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Second Class Citizens ((Freckles&Bec Teri))

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Max opened the door for her, "After you." He wondered at this point if it was coincidence or if Elise knew in order for him to keep this form he had to be invited into buildings the first time. It was a pain in the ass trying to explain that particular nuance to humans. Some assumed that because they needed an invitation that they couldn't cross a threshold at all. They just couldn't cross a threshold in disguise unless invited across. Some thought formal invitation was the only way they could cross, but the idea of invitation was wonderfully abstract, which was why he wondered if it was coincidence or not.

He followed her through the door, and other then a slight push, as though stepping through a thin energy field, there was no adverse effect from crossing the meeting hall's threshold. He didn't say a word as they walked through the building towards the hall the meeting was to be held in.
 
Elise thanked him going into the main conference hall that was already a buzz with new news and old questions. Many of which William was deflecting asking everyone to calm down and sit in their seats. Eventually they did, and the council began to address the weekly concerns, and make notes when people had questions. While they went about answering things amongst themselves Elise prepared herself for her turn and sooner than she expected it came up.

"Miss Trembley."
"Ah? Oh yes!" She stood moving to the podium and placed her papers before her. She cleared her throat and smiled "Good evening everyone!" She said greeting them. "As all of you are aware earlier this week I went to the governor's mansion in hopes of gaining answers about all of our concerns, about our doctors, the crops, and stores." She said looking down at her notes she began to explain how her visit went, she told them all how investigations were being done but little evidence or clues had turned up about it. This was met with outrage and shouts, upset and fear rolled through the crowd like a ocean wave crashing down upon the shore who was Elise. And she met all of it with such confidence it calmed many of them down.
"Please. I know these aren't the answers we were hoping for, I know it's imperative that we find out medical personnel and bring them back home before this illness spreads or worsens. In fact the governor shared my fears, our fears and put his top investigator on it." She raised her hand and turned her head to Max. "This is Max. He's here to find out what's been happening, and I will be by his side every step of the way." She promised them.
"But Miss Trembley. Is there nothing more you can share with us? This illness it's nothing we've ever dealt with before, already 7 people have come down with it and one woman has died." A man asked as he stood awaiting for an answer. Elise looked down and shook her head. Her fingers were curled around the edges of the podium out of frustration for being unable to provide answers to them.
"I-I'm sorry but everything I've told you is all I know." She repeated. "Please if you have any further concerns I'll be in the lobby for 15 minutes for you to give me your concerns or updates on ones that were previously brought to me." She looked around them room seeing the calm wash over many of them. This made her smile an loosen her grip on the podium. She turned the the council and asked if there was anything else that needed to be addressed they shook their head's no. With a bang of the gable the meeting was over. Gathering her notes Elise grabbed her bag placing her notes in it and replacing them with pen and a pad of paper. As promised she headed to the lobby to speak one on one with the citizens.

When the 15 minutes were up that turned out to be 25 Elise had three new pages of concerns that would need to be addressed. It ranged from missing livestock, to questions about the town market an if they would still hold, though it was this mysterious illness that worried her the most. It was random and seemed to have no pattern and the onset was just as strange. People would go from perfectly healthy to ill in a matter of days or hours. There was no telling of how to keep the illness at bay.

"Well that was exciting. Shall we head home for the evening? I'm pretty tired myself." Elise yawned out the words stretching her hands high above her head b=then dropped them and rocked back and forth on her heels. "Let's go!" She smiled heading out the main door.
 
Part of Max felt a prang of irritation when Elise mentioned his father's concern. Ocig wasn't concerned about any of this, he was mildly curious at best. But these already panicky citizens didn't need to hear that right now. Max had also met his father's so called top investigator, the Demon was useless at best, completely incompetent at worst. Mosa didn't give a rats ass about anyone but Most. Sending that baffoon back through the gate was the first thing Max planned to do once his father retired. See how he fared there.

Max spent the meeting standing behind and to the right of Elise, just observing and listening to the concerns being expressed. When she mentioned him, he bowed his head in acknowledgment but still remained silent. There wasn't anything he could say to these people that would sooth their fears that Elise hadn't already said to them. Although the more he heard about this mysterious illness the more he was beginning to feel that warranted his attention as well. He had medical training while he was on the Gate, for both races. He knew the illness couldn't be his focus, not unless it was somehow connected to everything else. He would definitely have to talk to her about the commitment she just made, find out if she really meant it.

She seemed genuine enough when speaking one on one with the citizens who had come out that night. One such citizen had her eyes locked on Max the entire time they'd been in the hall. She was the only person he knew there, although her presence intrigued him. Unfortunately she didn't hang around for him to ask her about it. If Elise was serious about helping him investigate then he'd have to think of a damned good reason for the detour he planned to take tomorrow before he actually started his investigation.

Max followed Elise back out of the building before he finally broke his silence. "I will need a few things before I turn in for the night." Demons really didn't require a lot of sleep, a few hours here and there were all they truly needed. It was probably one of the main reasons they'd won the war.
 
Elise nodded as he mentioned needing somethings before turning in for the evening. "Oh that's fine." She dug into her bag and pulled out her keys taking off the house key. "Here you go, you can hang on to this while you're here so you can come and go as you please. I'm very tire so I'm going to head home, is that alright with you?" She asked looking up to him and covered her mouth as she yawned.
 
"That'll be just fine." He nodded accepting the spare key, "I would appreciate it if you would leave at least copies of all the information you have out. The files on the doctors, the crops and missing livestock, and, if at all possible, whatever information you have on those who have fallen ill. Of course if you have any other information you think I should look over, please leave that out as well."
 
Elise nodded "Sure thing. I can do that." She said with a smile and turned to her car. She headed home and when she got there she reached for her spare key that she kept hidden in the soil of a large potted plant near her front door. Just as she was opening the door Willam walked up.
"Elise." He called out startling her. She turned and smiled softly.
"Hello Willam." She sighed unlocking the door and turned to him. "Can I help you with something?" She asked stepping inside and turned to him.
"Yeah um...I just wanted to make sure you're alright. Did your meeting really go that great with the governor?" He asked Elise shook her head.
"No but I'm not about to create more panic among the town. It's bad enough as is." She said. "It's been a very long day Willam, go home, and like everyone else in town when I know something you will know something." And with that she shut the door and locked it. Before heading the bed Elise laid out all of notes for everything so that Max could review them when he was ready. Then she headed to bed.
 
Max watched her leave before he walked off in the opposite direction. He waved down a passing cab and gave the cabbie an address. The address turned out to be a small brick bungalow in what appeared to be an abandoned suberb. He paid the driver and then got out of the vehicle. The house was everything the former Gate Guardian said it would be. Right down to the missing number on the garage door. Benny left the wall the same time he had, but Benny was retiring due to his age. Max didn't bother with the front door, he knew Benny wouldn't answer it, he walked straight to the side door of the garage and knocked three times.

It took a few moments but Benny opened the door a crack and shone a light out, "Who knocks at this godforsaken hour?"

"A friend who knows you were night watch on the gate," Max said with a grin as he pulled down his sunglasses.

"Oh, and I'm just supposed to take your word for it am I? What was my wife's middle name?"

"You never married Benny, but you always fancied Sergeant Nancy. Her middle name was Aurora. Served four tours on the gate before she died from a stroke in her sleep about five years ago."

"Come on in Max," Benny said swinging open the door.

Maxpushed his sunglasses back up on his nose. "You always were paranoid Benny."

"Kept me alive all this time. How can I be of service old friend?"

"I need a few things, boards and easels mainly."

"Working on a puzzle are we?"

"Indeed, but I don't have a whole lot of room to work in and I can't be punching holes in the walls."

"Well you came to the right place, my brother stashed all kinds of crap here when his business supply store went tits up." Benny said making his way over to the door leading into the house itself. "What else ya need?"

"Maps, at least three of this sector."

"Let's cross our extremities we get lucky. How you gonna get all this back to wherever you need it?"

Max held up the key Elise gave him. "The fun way."

Once Benny and Max had gathered everything Max thought he would need, Benny wished him luck and then Max and the supplies disappeared. It wasn't quite teleportation, Max basically opened a small portal into hell, then opened another in his desired location. The key and Elise's previous invitation into her home insured he had no problems hindering this process, they also prevented anything from following him. As quietly as he could he began to set up the cork and whiteboards on easels, making sure he could still move freely around the room while he began recording numbers and information on said boards.
 
Elise was sound asleep when Max came back. Even the noise from him setting up the boards and starting on the puzzle did not wake her. When morning came her alarm went off. She sighed heavily and got out of the bed. A quick shower and then she got dressed. It was shocking to see how vastly different her living room/dining area had changed in just a couple of hours.
"Oh...Goodmorning Max." She said walking into the kitchen and began to fix them some breakfast. "What's all this?" She asked as she began to make the coffee.
 
Max was standing in the middle of the room just staring at a few of the boards, trying to make the information make sense. Clearly he needed more data to figure out this puzzle. He turned to look at her as she walked passed, his sunglasses folded and tucked onto the front of his shirt. "My thought process. I hope you don't mind, I know it takes up a lot of room, but it's easier for me to work problems out if I can visualize them."
 
She waved her hand and set down her favorite coffee cup. "Nope. Do what you need to." She assured him and smiled "Would you like some coffee and breakfast?" She asked. By the time she finished asking the coffee was done. She fixed her cup and took a long sip savoring the hot liquid as it warmed her and energized her. Setting the cup down she turned to the fridge pulling out some eggs, bacon, and a couple of veggies. She began to chop the veggies and whisked the eggs intending to make an omelet with a side of bacon.
 
"Just coffee thanks," he said with a smile. He walked over to the kitchen and watched her prepare her meal for a few moments. "How involved in this investigation did you want to be? You told the assembly that you'd be with me every step, did you mean every step?" He leaned on the door frame as he asked the question, his face and tone were merely curious.
 
She poured the cup of coffee and placed the sugar bowl and cream in front of him as well. She liked her coffee sweet but not to much so. Two tablespoons of sugar and topped off with creamer and her cup was just the way she liked it. The bacon was removed from the skillet and the remainder of the grease was drained off.
"That's correct I did mean every word. I may not look it but incredibly resourceful and I believe that two heads are better than one. Her smile was intoxicating and infectious to the peoples around her. It didn't take long for the omelette to cook. With it piping hot Elise dug her fork into her meal and gobbled it down. "Please tell me where you would like to begin with this." She ate a for full of eggs and listened quietly to his plan of action.
 
Max nodded, "Alright then," he said drinking the coffee black, "I'd like to start with the doctors, but before we can I do have to tell you something that you may find... unsettling. You need to first know that my father had his reasons for not sharing this with you at your meeting, but I know he had his reasons. This first map here," he walked over to the board in question, "represents all the information I have on the doctor situation. Green pins are the hospitals where they worked, Red pins are their last known locations, Black pins are where they were found alive, white are for the ones who were not so fortunate. If you can call the state they were found in fortunate." He sipped his coffee and waited for her reaction to the news he'd just given her.
 
She nodded as he began speaking. Starting with the doctors was good. It was probably the most pressing matter with this mysterious illness spreading through the town. She walked around to the table and pulled out a chair positioning it so that she could easily see everything on his board. She had noticed all the different colored pins in the map. She swallowed another bits down and lowered her fork to a resting position on her plate. She leaned back into the chair closed her eyes and inhaled deeply then exhaled.
"So he lied to me. Of course he lied to he me, he either lies to me or flat ignores me." She mumbled and set the plate aside folding her arms. "What kind of...unfortunate state were they found in? Are they dead, and if that's the case is there anything left to bury for the families?" She asked her mind drifting for a moment back to the previous night a wife of one of the doctors asked if she had any idea about her husband. "The ones found alive...are they healthy and well? Why haven't they returned home?" She wondered standing and moved to the board. She snapped her fingers and walked over to a kitchen drawer grabbing a small sewing kit. Taking the colored spools of thread she connected the pins to see if any pattern emerged among them.
 
Max walked over to the table where the intelligence briefings sitting, "From the reports I was provided from father's sources, about half were found dead. Autopsy revealed no reason for the deaths, no wounds, disease, ext.they simply ceased living. Of the other half, most were found completely catatonic. Breathing on their own, able to sit, stand, all basic brain functions, but, if you'll excuse they phrase, it's like the lights were all on, but no one was home. Now a small percentage of these doctors were discovered in much worse conditions. They're either mumbling incoherently, but constantly, barely pausing for air, laughing hysterically until they pass out, only to begin again once they regain consciousness, or screaming to the same end." He paused to sip more coffee. "I imagine father thought you would share this knowledge with your citizens, and he feared riots would be the result. After all, we haven't seen injuries like this since the war, or so I'm told. That was just a tad before my time."
 
She sighed resting her head in her hands as he spoke explaining to her what all they knew and the current states of the doctors that were found alive. She lifted her head eyebrows raised in surprise.
"So this has happened before? Over three hundred years ago but it has happened." She said and folded her arms "Maybe that's where we should start looking for answers? In the archives and records. Maybe someone recored something about how this ended or if there was a cure, maybe even this mystery illness that is spreading through the town has happened before." She suggested and nodded satisfied with her suggestion. "Do you think that is a good idea?" She asked Max rising from her seat. She moved back into the kitchen trashing the uneaten food and began to wash the dishes.
 
Max sighed, "Records are either incomplete or non-existent. That was the first thing I looked into the night of your conference with my father. I only know it happened before because of a small footnote cleverly hidden in one of my reports. However, I happen to know where the writer of said report got their information from. I would like to start there, although your illness, that hasn't been seen before according to my reports, no records of the symptoms you've provided seem to exist. As far as I can determine only the attacks on your doctors are reminiscent of the war. I do believe the two to be connected though. It's far too grand of a coincidence to be otherwise. Look here," he moved to stand with his second board and map. "The areas of farmland with missing crops and lifestock, only a few farms are ever hit twice, and those that are seem to be the ones who report fewer then normal losses to pests. Whoever is striking these farms are either taking the best quality foodstuffs and animals either because they're eating them themselves or just so your people can't have them. If it's Demons doing this then they're incredibly young, at least if spite is their goal, adults aren't quite so petty. If I'm wrong then these too maybe connected to your doctors."

He then turned to the last board, "This one is the information I have on the citizens falling ill. As you can see, it's all over the place. Which, I imagine is primarily due to the swiftness of the illness and the lack of investigative doctors. The other reason that the illness and the attacks on your doctors have to be connected is the majority of doctors who have been attacked specialize in the study of disease." There was one more issue that had come up in his reports that he thought was more annoying then anything. "The other reason I hope that we're dealing with Juveniles has more to do with a legend your people once believed. Are you familiar with the Riders of the Apocalypse?"
 
"You've got to be kidding me right?" She asked him the plate slid from her soap covered hands and into the sink clattering and chipping the plate. Her eyes went wide and she snatched a towel off of the counter and dried her hands. She walked over to her bookshelf and grabbed a black leather bound book and opened it to the end of it.

"The four horsemen of the apocalypse. The sign that the fourth of the seven seals are broken." She tossed the book to him and shook her head as he looked at the cover. It was a christian bible. "So many myths we once believed have been debunked but these horsemen are also real? You can't be serious?" She asked her hands now on her hips not wanting to accept that she was now in the dead center of myth and magic and it was destroying her home and the people she was trusted to protect.

"What do you suggest we do?"
 
He pinched the bridge of his nose, "To my knowledge they are a myth, but it does look as though someone is doing a, if you'll excuse the expression, piss poor job of mimicking them. Pestilence and Famine at any rate. Which is why I think k we may be dealing with Juveniles, but they are decently well organized. I would like to look into this past connection first. However, I must warn you, the sourse is considered less then reputable by my people. I could explain why but seeing him is an easier way of explaining him."
 
She nodded and flipped the light off in the kitchen. "Let me just grab my purse and we can get going." She smiled and headed to her bedroom. She moved over to her dresser where her purse was sitting. She caught a glimpse of her reflection and then paused to study her face a bit more. She rarely wore a full face of makeup. Her daily routine was mascara, eye shadow and eyeliner maybe with a lip color or some simple gloss. She figured that today was going to be long and she already looked tired. Moving quickly Elise did her makeup and then headed back downstairs where he was waiting for her.
"So where is it that were going? And do you want to drive or just guide me there?" She asked heading to the front door.
 
"I'll have to guide, I'm not proficient with automobiles. Being a shapeshifter makes things like that difficult at times." He followed her out of the house and to her car. He had her drive through town and into another seemingly abandoned subdivision, although a different one then his friend Benny had taken refuge in. At the center of this subdivision, stood a small, single story school building. Over half of the letters telling you the name of the school were missing, the yard looked like it hadn't been properly maintained for decades. Weeds and over grown grass choked small trees that had managed to take root around the crumbling portable structures that must have once held the overflow students. The building itself looked one good storm away from being condemned.

There was no one in sight when Max instructed her to pull into the cracked and broken parking lot. It wasn't until he got out of the car and opened the trunk that the first tiny head of a child, she couldn't have been more then eight years old, popped out of the shrubbery in front of the building and watched him pull his remaining duffel bags out.
 
She followed his directions easily and found herself in a part of town long abandoned and lifeless or so it appeared on the surface. She got out of the car and waited while he gathered his things from the trunk. She noticed the rustling of the bushes and then a head popped up. "Oh." She said and stood up right noticing a few more heads popped out of the shrubs. All the children looked dirty and hungry but cautious and on the defense. "Uh. Max we're being watched." She said moving over to his side.
 
"I know, do not worry, they will not harm you." He said loud enough for his voice to carry over to the children. "They also will not relieve you of your valuables or I will be very displeased." A slightly disappointed grumble coursed through the urchins.

The young woman Max had spotted at the town meeting walked out of the building and shook her head at the children, "You lot just going to stand there gapping or are you going to help Max with the supplies?" She kept walking up to him as the children delegated amongst themselves who would help carry the bags that Max brought. "Max, you're late."

"Unavoidable, father decided I needed to learn the ins and outs of his position." He shrugged.

The woman hadn't actually noticed who he had brought with him until this point. "Is that..."

"Yes. Drusilla, this is..."

"I know who she is Mazir. I can't believe you brought here here!"

Max was unphased by the outburst, he rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "I did not only come to resupply and check up on your brood Dru. I need to speak with him. Besides, Elise is not here to shut you down."
 
"Late?" Elise asked relaxing a bit after Max assured her all was fine but she still couldn't help but wonder where they all came from. Orphans was not an uncommon thing but seeing so many was still quite the site for her. Maybe I should take a look at how we're caring for children like them she was thought making mental note of that.
"Hi. I'm Elise Trembley" she said with a smile nodding at the woman who clearly wanted nothing to do with her. She decided to leave the introduction at that but her curiousity and moral ground couldn't let it go that so many people were living in a place like this.
"What exactly do you do here?" She asked
 
Drucilla sighed, "Call me Dru, I look after about a dozen children and the Colonel. I'll let him know you're here." She turned on her heel and headed back inside the building.

"You'll have to forgive Dru," Max said shaking his head, "The Colonel is far from the easiest being to deal with. Nor the children for that matter."

"Oh, come on Max! We're delightful!" A little boy about seven said with a huge toothless grin.

"You would be more delightful if you'd bathe more and did not steal hubcaps. This car better be completely in tact when I leave." The boy stuck his tongue out at him and ran with the others back inside the old school. "They are a mix of orphans, runaways and halfbreeds." Max said closing the trunk of Elise's car.
 
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