Back To Basics

Morning came too soon. Hanson was outside ready to pick up Juliet from her apartment to get back to the normal everyday grind they had become accustomed to. The front desk was unmanned this early but the rest of the crew would cycle in when they should. Hanson was back to his calm self making coffee in the break room for when people started coming in. As Juliet made her way to Hanson's office to grab her stack of papers that he would have ready for her she noticed that Hunter's door wasn't closed as he does when he leaves. Peering in with a light knock she found him leaning over his computer keyboard looking rather focused on his computer screen. He seemed to be off in his own world doing who knows what.

She backed off heading into the hallway and back to Hanson's office. Sure enough, the stack of papers she needed was already there, neatly stacked with a sticky note with her name on it. She was supposed to get them sorted and taken care of by the end of the week. A quick scan through it was enough to see that she would have it done well before that. Most of it was getting to the right department within the building to take care of it. Some bills here and there, expenses for some of the field agents that deal with more local issues, the usual nonsense she gets to be responsible for. Maybe a quiet week would be appreciated. And maybe it was too much to ask for when she heard Hunter yell down the hallway, "Don't get comfortable! We have a job!"

Once that sentence is declared, Hanson, Adam, Juliet, and Hunter all make their way to the third floor for their briefing. The projector is firing up as she enters with Hanson right behind her. He takes a seat in one of the chairs while Hunter stands at the front. It flips to an image of a rather large house located somewhere in a somewhat remote area. Hunter's eyes lit up as he began, "We're heading to the mountains of Utah!" Already off to a great start. Hunter flips the slide to a picture of an older lady. Her hair is gray with age and her face has lines of distinction from her experience. "The issuer is this woman here, Lady Sarah Mackling." He flips it to another picture of an older gentleman who appears to be about the same age as her, "This is her late husband Sir Ian Mackling." The projector flips back to Lady Mackling's face. "Lady Sarah Mackling is from a long line of prestigious Mediums who work with various groups to communicate with the dead. The twist with this is that she has not contacted her late husband per his last requests as he passed away three months ago. Yet she is reporting that her late husband is haunting and harassing her. She has been unable to communicate with him to try and quell him so she is asking for a specialist's help."

Hanson stood and acknowledged, "Are we bringing Cooper in on this job?"

"Not on this one. At least not yet. I want to make sure that it is her late husband before we bring someone in."

"So you believe that this is not her late husband?"

"Correct, I think someone or something is messing with this poor old lady in her time of grief. We are going in to investigate, contain, and remove whatever or whoever is doing this. We're going to try and keep it civil but we'll come up with a game plan once we figure out what it is. Hanson! You'll be researching as we collect information. Juliet and I will be doing the leg work when the time comes. The plane leaves in two hours. Pack up and let's roll."

One thing you cannot fault Hunter for, he gets to the simple point and doesn't cut corners. The plan right now is simple but that quickly changes once they get boots on the ground.

Compared to the other jobs they have been taking recently. This flight was rather short. They didn't even leave the state. However, the drive from the airport to the house was incredibly distant. They passed through the small town into the rural area where atop a hill crest was a house larger than Hunter's. The gate opened for them as their driver paged the main house. Their car was parked in front of the garage door. Before they could even set foot on the pavement it seemed that the house help was already in the trunk grabbing their bags. Hunter tried to insist they take them themselves but the staff refused to acknowledge him and continued on their way taking the bags along a path around the garage out of sight.

From the main door came their client sporting her white evening attire and a fur scarf with one of her attendants behind her. Her initial gesture was to hug Hanson with a large and loud thank you. Hunter kept to himself and let Hanson take all the attention. He would be taking point on communication with her and the staff to find out the information. He and Juliet would be the eyes on the place. Hunter would be on the ground while Juliet took to the skies to get a higher view. From breakfast to bed they would be following Lady Mackling, keeping an eye on her and keeping her safe. If her late husband is haunting her then they will need to be ready to take action. Since it was already late it was just a hello and goodbye for this meeting. Lady Mackling assigned two of her attendants to assist them in the guest house. They were to help unpack and make sure they were taken care of including running food from the kitchen, grabbing supplies, and any errands they may need to run.

The guest house they were given was just a little smaller than the entire office back home. The first floor was for entertaining. It had a lounge, bar, entertaining area, and an area with a pool table. The second floor had their rooms all separated and the size of a master bedroom with their own attached bathroom designed so that no other room could be disturbed.

The first-floor recreation area was remodeled by shoving the pool table into the corner and the table from the dining room was moved over. They set up their small equipment and mobile board to work on. The group sat down in a chair of their own to begin talking about the basic plan. Someone would always be with Lady Mackling. Another would be close enough to be ready at a moment's notice but far enough to get a bigger picture. Juliet would be airborne or up high to get a good look at the grounds and look for any disturbances. Adam was given permission to monitor the security cameras. His post would be at the guard shack with his phone sending updates about anything that looks out of the ordinary. He would have access to his computer while working and doing additional research. Everyone had their role to make sure that this was solved as quickly as possible. But for tonight, they got to rest. In the morning they would be on guard as long as Lady Mackling was up.

The crew went to their rooms at a decent hour. Juliet had some issues falling asleep. It was the bed. It was too comfortable for her. Between her apartment and the hotels they stayed at, this was too much for her. She sat up trying to get herself situated to be comfortable. A little bit of light escaped under her door into her room catching her attention. No one should be up and everything should be off. Or at least it was when they dismissed their attendants for the night before heading to bed. Her curiosity got her. She opened her door peeking over the railing downstairs. The big chandelier was on, giving light to most of the first floor. A second light in the rec room was on. Was it left on or was someone still up?

With a light step, she made her way downstairs. Someone was casting a moving shadow from the rec room as they moved around. In a pair of gray shorts and a white shirt, Hunter was wandering around looking at the map of the grounds and the interior of the house. He seemed to be mumbling to himself, asking questions and answering them. Juliet kept her distance to try and listen in but he was too quiet. His bare feet kept making noise on the portion of the tiled floor. Finally, she decided to address him, "Hunter?" He stopped dead in his tracks lifting his head up to his name. Turning around he noticed she was standing outside of the doorway in her gray and pink PJs. He turned back to the board with a huff. He motioned her to come in with his right hand just by waving.

The tile flooring was heated! She wasn't expecting it but it was a pleasant surprise. She kept her distance but still tried talking to him, "Hunter? You ok?" He sighed as he kept staring at the board, "Yea, I am. I couldn't sleep and my mind won't calm down about this case." Juliet stepped closer putting a hand on his back getting him to turn around, "What's wrong?" The answer escaped him at first. He stuttered a few syllables before getting full words to form, "There's something about this that we are missing. Plus the beds are way too comfortable for me." His answer sparked a small smile in her. He continued though, "Ghosts are not a thing. That's just plain and simple. The spirit or soul leaves the body. If it comes back, it's something else entirely. According to Lady Mackling, her husband's death was mildly suspicious but he was old so an illness would take its toll on his body that could result in his death. Even so, he had no malice towards her that she could tell so there's no need for him to return to her."

"She can talk to him though, right?"

"She can, but he specifically told her that when he died that she was to not do it. She needs to move on. So that route is a dead end even though it would save us so much time. Then there's still the nagging feeling that we're missing something that's right in front of our faces." He began to grit his teeth, "And I hate it when I can't figure it out!"

He threw his arms forward towards the board. Juliet put her hand on his upper right arm and her other hand on his back, "Hunter, we do this every time. If you say we're missing something, we'll find it. We always do." She seemed to calm the beast for a while. This outburst was uncharacteristic of him though. She quickly caught on to it, "Is there something else on your mind?" He continued to huff looking back between her and the board. He finally got himself collected enough to answer, "Yea, but now is not the time for it. Remind me when we're done with this case."

"I can do that. You should try and get some sleep though. We'll have plenty of time to deal with this in the morning."

He wasn't going to fight her on it. He nodded before turning around, hitting the light on the way out. Juliet followed behind him with her loose pant legs rustling against the carpet as they got off of the tile. Hunter stopped at the top of the stairs in front of his room, "Thank you, Juliet. I don't think I say that enough." He got a smile out of her, "I know you mean well. Get some sleep there, boss." He nodded, grabbing the door handle. When the latch clicked behind him, her mind began racing again. What was it he had on his mind that he wanted to wait in? It seemed like there was something he wanted to talk to her about during their vacation as well but never got the chance. She would have to wait on it. For now, sleep was beginning to call to her. With an early day tomorrow, she needed as much as she could get.