The Empty Room

 The Empty Room

Downtown Cincinnati (2 miles from UC)

A black ford escapade with flashing blue-plum lights pulls up to one of the lesser than habitable part of Cincinnati. A pair of Cincinnati police cars are parked outside of the crime scene. Detective Agnes Harris steps out of a black Dodge charger joined by her counterpart Detective Joel Washington.

Robert Mitchell aka Badge joins the pair after his Ford escapade pulls up. His team of Crime scene investigators join him which include Reese Williams, Johnny “Shaman” High-eagle and Dr. Alison Kim. All but Reese and Shaman are wearing dark suits of detectives. While Badge wears a black plum necktie. “Greetings Agnes, what have you got for my team?”

“Hello Bob, we got a missing teenager about 16 who ran away from home, her parents says she has a drug habit and well we called you guys in because the flop-house is on your red flag list whit the bureau and there seems to be evidence of a kidnapping as well.”

Reese steps forward “ Normally unless it is state across state that's when we are called in but since she is 16 we are glad to help out Detective Harris.”

“Show us the way Agnes.”

Moments later

The PERT (Physical Evidence Response Team) now dress in blue suits and blue slip on-s with rubber bands on them. Enter a horribly cared apartment with broken vials, the broken and used hypodermic syringes, broken pipes and shell casings. The team covers their mouths and noses with surgical masks. “This place is a hell of a place to live in.” comments Detective Washington.

“I remember one time raiding a sod-house in the sandlot and man it had feces all over the place.” comments Reese as he breaks up the tension among the detectives. Mitchell leans down and picks up a .38 shell casing and feels it.

He starts to envision in his head a shootout between gangsters and something else. “Johnny, I'm sensing something. I need your Shaman skills to check it out.” Handing over to him some gun shells.

“Understood Chief.” Shaman takes the gun shells from Mitchell.

“Chief you might want to come over here found a body in the bathroom. Alison you might want to do your ME stuff as well.” comments Reese as he stands over a black teen gangster who is brutally slain.

Alison takes the lead and exams the black teenager placing a thermometer in the body on the temperature of the body. She reads it but holds her breath from the stench of the place. :87 degrees he's been dead no more than three hours, Bob.”

“Agnes or Washington do you know this kid?” comments Mitchell Washington looks down and shakes his head.

“That's Charlie Ridge, former all star track at East Cincinnati High but on his last track meet he got busted with drug use and went to the life of crime. Poor Kid had a good future but he got his joys on Opiods.” replies Washington “ He is about 19 now or was.”

Shaman joins Mitchell. “ Chief got a moment.”

“What have you got Johnny?”

“This gang-banger were shooting at some thing, not of this place.”

“Any ideas?”

“You may find this hard but I just found some wolf hair in the dump of society.”

“Great, you thinking what I am thinking?”

“Werewolf chief.”

“What the hell would a werewolf want with a dive like this?”

Cincinnati Dockyards

A group of female and male prisoners are placed in cages all appear to be the dregs of society. A pair of Slavic men in dark sweaters overlook the prisoners speaking in their own language. “These Norms will get us a fair price and some of the women would make fine mates for our people Tiberius”

“I do not like their stench of drugs on them Calvert, we need to cleanse them of that stench before we offer it to our Arabian buyers. Start with that black girl cleanse her with that analgesic medicine . It should make her stronger and more lustful for our appetite.

Calvert reaches in and pulls the 16 year old girl out of the cage. She struggles but her drug state makes it harder for her to resist. “ NO Please!”

“Silence girl we are going to clean you up.”

The missing 16 year old girl is dragged into the sick bay of the vessel they are on.

Cincinnati Police headquarters, Downtown.

Harris, Mitchell and the others are lectured by intelligence gathered by one of Washington's contacts. “My snitches tell me that there is a human trafficking ring run by one of the Slavic gangs having an auction tonight. I thought you Feds might be interested in joining our raid maybe the missing girl is there.”

Harris raises her voice the girl has a name her name is Diva Jones, I'm sorry I just got her name one hour ago.” replies Harris with an anger tone in her voice.

“Well if Miss Jones is there we have the right for a warrant. Agnes make your calls to get a warrant. Washington introduce me to your team.”

Three hours later (10 pm)

A fleet of well off cars pull up to a warehouse in the better part of the Cincinnati Docks. As several barges go down the Ohio River. Men and women step out in dark suits and carry with them briefcases.

Mitchell and Harris pull up in a dark BMW and step out of the car. Harris wearing a dark skirt and Mitchell wearing a custom cardigan and jacket. “Tell Harris she is making Alison jealous, Chief.” comments Reese through a professional radio in his back teeth.

Mitchell grinds his teeth on the words passed to him by his second in command. The Couple enters and sees a mix assortment of men and women most appear to be of Southeast Asian and Arabian descent. Several girls dance on poles as the buyers drink and toast to the party- goers.

“Agnes did we get the warrant, if Diva Jones is here?”

“Judge Carlin was full of support closing down this human trafficking ring. Its a shame we can arrest all these low lifers.”

“They will get their day Agnes. For now smile and look for the girl.”

“Don't you get messed up with those pole-cats, Bob.”

30 Minutes later

Mitchell and Harris look about in the warehouse/ nightclub as techno music plays in the background. Sitting next to Tiberius, Diva Jones looks cleaned up but still in a daze. She wears a lime green night dress while Tiberius holds her as his personal servant. Harris signals Mitchell to join her as the techno music plays loudly in the background. “There is the missing girl but the Slavic thug holds her like a pup. How do you want to play this, Bob?”

Mitchell pans through the smoky haze and spots the fire sprinkler station. “Hope you don't mind getting wet. But I need to use the Ba-nos”

“What are you doing?” Harris questions him as he holds up his finger and signals her and approaches a Hispanic thug.

Mitchell walks drunk to the thug and stutters his speech as if drunk. “Ba-nos Senor, I feel like I might vomit.” The young Hispanic thug points to the left showing a look of concern for the nightclub.

Mitchell walks to an empty stall and leans over the toilet. Using Morse Code with his professional radio, Mitchell tells Reese to be ready to join the fire department. “ I hope you know what you are doing Badge.”

Mitchell sees that it is empty in the bathroom as he stands on the toilet and pulls out a lighter placing it under the sprinkler system to heat up the sprinkler alarm system. Moments later the high pitch wails of the fire alarm go off in the warehouse/ nightclub.

Wailing Beep Beep Wail

The crowds start to exit the nightclub as the sprinklers release the foamy water on the people exiting the warehouse/nightclub. Harris shakes her head as Mitchell takes her by the arm. Tiberius goes out the back way with his girls. Mitchell directs Harris to follow them as they both pull their backup service weapons from their briefcase. The two rush after the girls exiting the warehouse.

Raising his voice Mitchell yells at Tiberius as the sound of fire engines start to arrive behind them. “DIVA JONES! STOP! WE ARE THE POLICE!”

Tiberius turns back and shows the look of an angry wolf at the arriving police who are quickly joined by Reese, Washington and Shaman all wear firemen jackets and helmets. Each drawing their service weapons and aiming at Tiberius.

“GIVE IT UP TIBERIUS! YOUR DAYS ARE OVER!” Yells Washington recognizing the Human Trafficker.

“NO! YOUR DAYS ARE OVER COPPER! “ Tiberius covers his face and starts to transform into a large gray Lupe Garou werewolf. Mitchell, Reese and Shaman open fire with their Halite silver bullets from their service revolvers. Diva screams when she sees Tiberius transform into a werewolf. Dropping to the ground as the werewolf charges the police officers.

Firing a vast amount of halite silver shells, Tiberius drops to the ground seriously wounded.

Washington and Harris stand shell-shock at what they just witnessed. Harris leans over in her soaking dress holding the terrified teen. The other girls are quickly hustled together by the firefighters as Shaman and Reese cover the corpse of the werewolf from the firefighters.

“How do you want to explain this Chief?” comments Shaman to Mitchell who stands in a soaked cardigan sweater and jacket.

“We'll just say we had a drug pusher who was on hallucinogens and thought he was a werewolf. Make sure the body is picked up by Dr. Jinn, Johnny.”

Epilogue:

Harris, Washington and Mitchell sit down in the police cafeteria drinking some coffee and chewing on some bagels the next morning.” I read your report, Agent Mitchell but I don't understand any of this?” questions Washington

“Just say detective there are things out there that normal people are not meant to see and my FBI team works with a special security firm that hides this from the conspiracy theorists out there.”

“Than when you say DARPA you mean that is your security firm, Bob?” asks Harris

“Just a cover but yes. How is Diva doing?”

“She is in a rehab clinic now and hopefully by the time she graduates she will be a new person. She denies every seeing that thing but Dr. Kim and Johnny will use some hypnosis to erase it from her past. What are they going to tell her, Bob?”

“That she was attacked by a big pit-bull or rottweiler I think, I'm glad she is getting therapy

Agnes.”

The End?