Darkly - Episode #4

FBI & Fantasy

Want to start at the beginning? You can find the 1st episode and all episodes HERE.

For those already in the thick of it, here’s a quick recap: Kinley Scott’s career as an FBI Analyst is in trouble. The Omega Task Force is moving on a lead to catch the serial killer, and she’s not part of the fun. Things gotta change for her soon, right?

Now… onto Darkly Episode #4.

“They’re going to the wrong locations!”

You could have heard a pin drop, you know, if the floor hadn’t been carpeted. Once again, I’d overstepped and interrupted the seasoned veterans. Worst of all, they weren’t reacting. “Call Wilkes now if you want to save a life!”

This is not good, I warned myself, but when the data revealed a problem… I had to act.

Nina leaned against a wall to my right. She pushed off, gawking at me like I’d just slit my throat and was bleeding out. She blinked twice.

The staff at the desks took me more seriously. A woman with hunched shoulders near the front tapped her earpiece. “Wilkes, we got a foul called.”

His voice filtered through a speaker hung in the corner of the room. It crackled when he spoke, only adding to his typical tinge of irritation. “Tell me.”

The woman waved for me to speak up. I stepped forward. “Westland Mall just lost cell service. That fits a new MO that ties in with Omega’s attacks. I checked your two current locations, and their cell service is intact.”

One of the screens shifted from the storage facility location to the mall. “Westland is in the zone,” a male analyst backed me up.

“Do we have a missing woman at that location?” Nina asked, looking at the seated staff for a quick answer.

Agents and analysts scrambled for information.

Wilkes didn’t hesitate. “Why are we just hearing of this MO?”

“It’s new intel,” I said before anyone else could answer. “AI just uncovered it, and the supporting evidence is now connected to the Omega Hub. You can pull it up. It’s all there.”

It only took a second. The AI information appeared on one of the big screens. They might have questioned me, but they worshipped AI results.

Nina whistled, snatching a laptop to scan the data.

“Who is this?” Wilkes hissed through the speaker.

“Kinley Scott.” I inwardly cringed but managed to say my name like it was gold-plated. “The updated MO was generated due to our new real-time monitoring.”

The FBI had a thing for new tech, and real-time monitoring only recently became viable after AI improvements. It allowed authorities to use geospatial analysis to monitor live data streams from various sources. Not all divisions used it, but I’d included it in my AI backup analysis out of habit. I couldn’t say why the Dugout staff hadn’t. It wasn’t an error I’d point out, although I probably already had.

“I confirm the AI data,” Nina announced. A second analyst echoed agreement, and then a third.

“Sir,” a wide-eyed agent interrupted the sudden chatter in the room, “we have a third report of a missing woman named Amanda Collins. It was downplayed since it wasn’t at one of our locations.”

“Where is it?” Wilkes’s voice made the speakers squawk.

The agent hung his head. “Westland Mall.”

A groan tweaked the sound system, but it was so low and brief that I couldn’t be sure I’d heard the negative response. With a louder huff, Wilkes ordered all agents to divert to the mall. It was closer, cutting their arrival time in half and giving the victim an even better chance… if I was right.

Eyes slanted my way. They all wanted to know if I was right. The force of their attention, sixteen people at the moment, staring at me was unsettling. I gave a little nod. I was certain.

Over the speaker, chatter from the agents en route could be heard. It was eager affirmatives and attack point discussions.

“I want to own that mall,” Wilkes said. “Shut it down. We might lock Omega out in the process or tip him off. I don’t care. Priority One is the victim. We’ll worry about Omega tomorrow.”

“Damn.” Someone near me muttered.

“By the numbers, people,” Wilkes encouraged his team.

I caught a pointed glance from Nina, part admiration, part jealousy.

“How did we miss this?” a male agent to my left whispered. He caught my glance, and his face clouded. “We got this. Stand down.” His comment was blunt and submissive. A slap across my cheek would have hurt less.

I edged to the back of the room with nothing left to offer. Their faces blurred as a warmth spread through my body. I must have been moving slowly because a thickness soaked the atmosphere, murky and hushed. A curse came to my lips but stalled. I didn’t know if it should be directed at the room or myself. Even though I’d done the right thing, it twisted into wrong.

All attention and activity focused on the mall and a swift plan to hit it hard. Mall schematics and floor plans came up on the monitors. A red line appeared, snaking through a blueprint, directing the teams. I assumed Wilkes was drawing on a pad, showing everyone the new attack plan. Within minutes, the agents would shut down the mall.

Only Nina’s eyes tracked my exit. She gave me a two-finger salute. I took it to mean she was impressed with my intel but not my delivery, dismissing me like all the others. Funny how easy that occurred.

In the end, I’d ignored Gil’s advice.

“Let’s get this guy!” Wilkes’s voice echoed through the speaker. He sounded like a kid on Christmas Day who only saw Santa as a useless delivery boy.