**
The party at Assistant Director Kevin Urban�s home was in full swing and Shinta was bored to tears and his head was beginning to ache horribly. He sighed deeply and leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed. He felt a presence beside him and opened his eyes to find that Larabee had joined him.
�Bored?� Chris said, looking somewhat amused. The leader of the Gamma team was nibbling on shrimp cocktail and the strong smell of horseradish was doing nothing for Shinta�s well being. On top of his headache, he was beginning to feel nauseous.
Shinta grimaced and nodded. �All this noise is giving me a headache,� he said morosely.
Larabee nodded in understanding. �You have sensitive hearing,� he stated sympathetically.
�Big ears,� Shinta agreed. Being a half-elf, he had the keen hearing that his mother�s family had, including all the drawbacks that came with it. His ears twitched, as someone not far away laughed in a loud and irritatingly high-pitched way and he turned to glare at the offender.
Chris smirked. �Don�t kill anyone,� he advised, pushing away from the wall. �I�ll go ask the Deputy Director if we can leave without seeming� rude.�
Shinta sighed and fought the urge to put his hands over his ears to block out some of the sound. Instead, he downed the last of his drink and closed his eyes again. Since his team was supposed to be actually working, he seriously doubted that anyone would allow him to go home, but it never hurt to ask.
Chris made his way across the room to where the Deputy Director and his wife were standing and talking to the King.
�This is stupid,� Keenan was grumbling. �The teams exist, they work. Why do we need to be trotted out for the Council to see?�
�It makes them feel like they have a say in the decisions made by the Agency,� Travis said reasonably.
Keenan rolled his eyes and scowled up at the taller man. �Orrin,� he grumbled. �I�m the king and I�m on the damn Alpha team! Half of my advisors are on either the Alpha team or the Beta team. How much more say to the other members of the Council want?� His eyes narrowed suspiciously. �Or was there some other reason for this party that you didn�t feel like telling me?�
Travis chuckled and shook his head. �I don�t know what you want me to say, Your Majesty,� he admitted gently.
�How about telling me when we can leave without seeming rude,� Larabee said, touching his arm lightly.
�Agent Larabee,� Orrin said, smiling warmly. He eyed the younger man for a moment and then asked, �Aren�t you enjoying the party?�
�Time of my life, sir,� Chris agreed sarcastically. He noticed that Keenan�s entire demeanor had changed. Before, he�d been clearly irritated, now he had a mischievous glint in his eyes. Shrugging, Chris added, �However, some of the agents are elves and spending hours on end with noisy humans isn�t what they consider an amusing evening.�
�Translation: Shinta, Llewellyn and Nicco are going to have horrible headaches in the morning unless they can leave soon,� Keenan said, grinning impishly. �However, every one of them is too polite to say anything.� The king snickered softly behind his hand.
Orrin nodded sympathetically. �I supposed that the Alpha, Beta and Gamma teams will be able to start leaving � singly or in pairs � shortly,� he conceded. �However, Shinta will have to stick it out. His team is supposed to be providing security for� an artifact.�
Chris winced in sympathy for Shinta and said, �Guy�s getting a fairly decent headache, sir. I could monitor his team for him.�
�Or Omi can,� Keenan put in. �He did lead Weiss before it was� morphed into the Delta Team.�
Orrin nodded and opened his mouth to say something, when the party atmosphere was shattered by an ear-piercing scream. �What was that?� Orrin asked, turning to the pair of team leaders in alarm.
�A scream?� Chris answered, shrugging helplessly.
�Besides deafening for the elves, I can�t say,� Keenan said at the same time, setting his glass down. �I�m good, Orrin, but I�m not omniscient.�
�We�ll find out,� Chris put in, grabbing Keenan�s arm and dragging him in the direction of the cry. By the time they reached it, all the members of the four intelligence teams that were attending the party had gathered by the entrance to the study, as well as a number of other people.
Chris and Keenan took a moment to survey the crowd, before Keenan spotted a familiar face from whom he may be able to get some answers. �What the hell happened?� Keenan demanded, touching Bertram�s arm.
Bertram looked up from the trembling woman in his arms and whispered. �Assistant Director Urban�s been killed. Mrs. Potter found the body.�
�Two men were still standing over it but they fled,� Trenton put in helpfully. �A couple agents went after them.�
�Okay!� Keenan said with forced enthusiasm. Shaking his head in dismay, he turned to the members of his team and said, �Crowd control.� The other five members of his team quickly began clearing the area around Urban�s study.
Bertram nodded and shoved Gloria into the arms of her husband. �We�ll start talking to people and see if anyone saw anything,� he said helpfully, motioning to the members of his team, who quickly followed him.
Chris nodded and peeked into the room as the crowd of agents began to disperse. Ran was examining the body sprawled across the desk with a look of cold detachment. Youji was examining a window, which was standing open to the cool night air. Omi and Ken were kneeling quietly beside the safe, trying to get it open. �Am I even doing this right?� Ken asked irritably.
�Just another quarter turn to the left,� Omi said gently, �And that should do it.�
Hidaka nodded and did as his partner had instructed. There was a satisfying click and he pulled the door open. Peeking inside, he smiled. On the floor of the small safe was a stack of papers. The top page had some strange writing and a drawing of something that resembled a fairy. �It�s still here,� he stated, settling back in relief.
�Good,� Omi said softly, he shoved the door closed and spun the dial. Then turned around to face the people behind them. �They didn�t get it,� he said firmly, his wings fluttering.
�Good,� Chris said, nodding. This was supposed to be a nice quiet party, where the members of the Royal Council would get to meet and chat with the members of the new intelligence teams. Suddenly, Chris found himself in the middle of a murder mystery, involving one of the highest people in the Agency. �At least something went the way it was supposed to this evening,� he grumbled.
Ken frowned at the other agent�s words and then turned back to the safe. �It wasn�t my fault,� he grumbled.
Omi touched his shoulder. �It�s alright, Ken-kun,� he said. �No one thinks it was your fault. Do they, Agent Larabee?� he added, giving the leader of the Gamma team a pointed look.
Chris opened his mouth to reply, but Shinta cut him off. �None of that matters!� he snapped, clearly still not feeling well. �We need to concentrate on the task at hand. Namely: finding out who killed Assistant Director Urban.�
Youji looked up from his examination of the window and smiled wanly. �We already know why,� he said softly. �They wanted to get the manuscript and the director wouldn�t give it to them.�
Ran nodded and stepped over to Shinta. �What they failed to realize was that, although it was being stored here, Urban couldn�t have opened the safe if he wanted to,� he said quietly. �He�s was strangled,� he added with a clinically detached tone.
�Only Star Channels can open that safe,� Shinta said, glancing at Ken, who blushed and looked down. Eying the younger men, he asked, �How did this happen? You two weren�t� doing anything, I trust.�
�No,� Omi answered softly for both of them. �Director Urban told us to� give him a private moment with Mrs. Potter.�
Ken nodded. �We only left him alone for a moment and only because he told us to,� he said defensively. �Then Mrs. Potter showed up, I opened the door for her and she screamed.�
�Bertram showed up a moment later and took her,� Nathan said gently. Smiling wanly, he added, �Vin and Ezra are tracking them. They won�t get away.�
�Vin and� Ezra?� Chris said incredulously.
**
Ezra peered through the darkened forest, straining to see anything that might tell them where the fugitives had gone. The new moon had only been a few evenings before so he could only make out faint shadows. He was pretty sure Vin was still behind him but he wasn�t sure how far behind him.
�Ez?� a soft voice called, startling him.
Turning, he saw Vin standing not far away and hurried over to him, nearly tripping over the roots of the surrounding trees. �Mr. Tanner,� he said softly.
�It�s so dark,� Vin whispered. �Can�t you do some spell or something?�
The southerner shook his head. �I don�t know of any spells that can make light,� he said softly. �At least none that I am capable of performing at this juncture.� Frowning he added, �I can make fire� If I had a lantern or a torch or�� he trailed off, shaking his head.
�Candle?� Vin said, holding out a short cylindrical object.
Ezra frowned. �Dare I ask why you had such an object on your person?� he said, eying the other man curiously.
Tanner shrugged. �Must have put it in my pocket when I was at the church,� he explained softly. �Don�t matter, if we can get some light to see by. I won�t be able to find them if I can�t see a trail.�
Ezra nodded and waved his hand over the wick, which lit immediately, bringing a warm glow to both of their faces. �That�s better,� he sighed. Turning, he started back in the other direction. �Come on,� he whispered.
�Are you sure they went this way?� Vin asked softly. At Ezra�s quick nod, he scowled. His eyes scanned the ground for a few moments, and then he smiled. �You�re right,� he agreed.
�Of course,� Standish said, nodding.
Tanner chuckled and shook his head. Pointing, he said, �They headed off that way.� Leading the way, Vin asked, �What could have been so important in Director Urban�s office that people are willing to kill over it?�
�Ken said something about the Auram Manuscript,� Ezra explained, shrugging. �Supposedly it is an encoded spell,� he said. �The spell is said to be both immensely powerful and very dangerous.�
�Hmm,� Vin said quietly. Suddenly, he stopped. �Strange,� he mused. �There�s some kind of line in the dirt here.� As Tanner spoke, he began to kneel over the markings and then stumbled back with a startled squeak, his wings flapping wildly.
Rather than risk being hit by Vin�s wings, Ezra sidestepped out of the way. �Are you okay?� he asked, kneeling in front of Vin.
�I hit my head on something,� the startled tracker related.
Ezra frowned and turned back toward the line in the trail. He reached out his hand carefully and smiled when he felt his fingers touch something cool and smooth. �It�s a bubble shield,� he explained. �Invisible, dome shaped and somewhat elastic.�
�Can you break it?� Vin asked.
Standish smiled disarmingly at him and then turned back to the shield. He touched it again, this time bringing up a simple counterspell. He stood up with a self-satisfied grin as he felt the shield dissipate under his fingers. �Gone,� he said softly.
Vin nodded and stood up, rubbing his head irritably. �Right,� he said, glaring at Ezra. �You could have warned me.�
�What makes you think I had any idea it was even there until after you�d hit you head?� Ezra asked innocently.
�Humph,� Vin grunted, continuing down the trail. He stopped short again a few moments later, motioning Ezra to stay silent.
�Did you get it?� said a cold voice softly. Ezra and Vin exchanged a glance and then crept closer to the voices. Peering carefully through the underbrush, they could see two people standing with their backs to them. A third was standing in front of the pair, facing them. Ezra recognized the pair as the ones that had killed Director Urban.
�No,� one of them answered irritably. �We were� interrupted before Haruto could open the safe.�
�You killed him!� the other member of the pair all-but-shouted. �You didn�t have to do that! I could have� could have� knocked him out or something.� Shaking his head, he mumbled, �He was an Assistant Director! You can�t just go around killing them unless you want the whole Agency after you!�
�He saw us, Haruto,� his partner answered coldly.
Haruto shook his head firmly. �You never said anything about killing anyone,� he argued. �I � I want out.�
�See, that�s a problem,� the third man said coldly. �Because we aren�t going to let you go that easily. For all we know, you could run back to your Agency and tell them everything you know and, besides, we need you in order to open the safe.�
�No,� Haruto said firmly, shaking his head and stepping back. �I won�t do it!�
The other man caught him by the wrist before he could get more that a few steps away. Glaring darkly, he warned, �You don�t want to cross me!�
Even from where they were hiding Ezra could hear the man�s pained squeak. He threw a quick glance at Vin, who was frowning at him. Leaning as close as he could, he hissed into the other man�s ear, �We need to help him.�
Vin nodded and motioned Ezra to stay put while he moved around to the other side of the clearing. Ezra nodded and Vin held up five fingers and then quietly began making his way into position.
Waiting for the five minutes to pass while the pair bullied the smaller man in the clearing was nearly unbearable, but eventually, Ezra knew it was safe to make his move. He glanced up and saw that Haruto was now sitting on the ground cradling his arm while the other two were standing over him discussing how to get a second chance at the Manuscript.
Nodding once, he leapt to his feet and called, �Did you honestly think you could kill an Assistant Director and get away with it?�
The pair turned to Ezra in surprise and the distraction gave Vin the time he needed to swoop down out of the tree behind them, knocking them both to the ground. The fight was short and dirty, ending abruptly when Ezra performed a spell that tossed the taller of the pair across the clearing and Vin struck the other with both his wings.
Once both men were unconscious, the agents turned to Haruto, who had backed up away from the fight as far as he could. �Hi,� he said weakly. In the faint moonlight, Ezra could see that the man was younger than either himself or Vin. He had a shock of brown hair on his head and his eyes were wide with fright and teal-colored.
�You�re a star channel,� Ezra stated softly.
�Haruto Sakaki,� he said, using the tree for support as he pushed himself into a standing position. �I�m a� Windstar. You� aren�t Knights are you?�
Vin frowned in confusion, but Ezra quickly shook his head. �We�re with the Agency,� he explained. �The Agency does not agree with the views of the Knight of Equality.� Turning to Vin, he explained, �They believe that all Star Channels are� abominations and need to be� �cleansed� from the world.�
Tanner�s eyes widened and he looked back at the young man, shaking his head. �We ain�t with them, no,� he said adamantly. �Were you with these two?�
Haruto looked down at his feet. �Not by choice,� he said morosely. �They kidnapped me and said they�d� turn me over to the Knights if I didn�t cooperate.� Looking up again, he added, �But they didn�t say anything about killing someone. I�d sooner�� he broke off shaking his head. �I wouldn�t have cared what they did to me if I�d known he�d do that.�
Ezra nodded slightly, inclined to believe the young man. From what he�d read of Star Channels when the Agency had learned that Hidaka was one, they�re eyes gave away their feelings and tended to take on a soft red hue when they lied. Haruto�s eyes had settled into a brown so dark it was nearly black.
Turning to Vin, he said, �Let�s get these two secured so we can get back to the others.�
Tanner nodded and looked over at Haruto. �You should come with us,� he said firmly. �Even if you had no part in Urban�s murder, you�re at least a witness and you�ll need to testify against these two.�
�Okay,� he replied a little uncertainly. Without another word, he stepped over to one of the men and clasped his hand, which glowed briefly. Looking up at Ezra, he explained, �I had to break the link.�
�Of course,� Ezra said, nodding slightly. �That would explain why you didn�t use your powers to stop them earlier.� Haruto nodded and blushed slightly, telling Ezra that he should leave the topic alone. The magician took the hint and turned back to Vin, who�d just finished securing one of their prisoners. He cast a quick spell on the pair and said, �Let�s get back. The Wardens will want to take these two into custody.� Vin nodded and motioned to Haruto and the trio carefully made their way back through the forest towards Urban�s mansion.
**
Bertram sighed deeply. After spending nearly an hour questioning the guests of the party to find any possible witnesses and not finding anything useful, he wanted nothing more than to go home. He�d smiled gratefully when Keenan had shared with him that the Deputy Director had dismissed them, but it seemed that the Director had other ideas.
�There was another purpose to all of them being here,� Alister said irritably.
Orrin nodded slightly. �True, Al,� he agreed. �However, the introductions were supposed to take place hours ago and at this point they�re all exhausted.�
Alister turned to a tall man with shoulder length dark hair that was standing behind him. �Have you found the sixth member of your team yet?� he asked worriedly.
�His team?� Keenan asked softly. Looking up at Alister, he asked, �You made a fifth team and didn�t let me know?�
�There was something that happened in the Agency that Keenan didn�t know about?� Bertram asked, looking shocked. At Keenan�s hurt look, he said, �You know everything, Keen.�
�Not� everything,� Meadows smirked, remembering his earlier words.
Chris rolled his eyes at the interplay and turned to the leader of the new team. �What�s the name of this sixth team member and where is he?� he asked.
�I have no idea where he is, if I did I would have gone to retrieve him myself instead of waiting for him to return,� the man responded. Shaking his head, he started, �His name is ��
�Amon!� a voice called. Suddenly, Amon was thrown to the floor with a surprised yelp. It took Chris a moment to realize that a smaller man had tackled him and was now burying his face in Amon�s long dark coat.
�Sakaki,� Amon said softly. �Get off of me before you embarrass yourself further.�
The young man nodded and quickly stood up, allowing Amon to get to his own feet. �Haruto Sakaki,� Amon said, turning to Chris. �Our missing member. I am Amon.�
�Where have you been?� a brunette demanded of Sakaki before Chris could greet either of them.
Haruto glowered and said, �I�m sorry, Miss Karasuma. Next time someone kidnaps me, I�ll be sure to leave a note!�
�You were kidnapped?� a younger woman asked softly, looking greatly concerned.
Haruto nodded, but Alister cut him off. �Now is not the time for this,� he said sternly.
�Sorry, sir,� the trio chorused.
Alister Blackstone sighed deeply and turned to Amon. �Now that they�re all here, why not introduce you team,� he said with exaggerated patience.
�Miho Karasuma, Robin Sena and Haruto Sakaki,� he said, pointing at the trio standing just behind him. Gesturing to a young blond woman and a man with glasses Chris hadn�t previously noticed, he added, �Yurika Dojima and Michael Lee.�
�Well,� a familiar voice said from behind Chris. �We�ve already met Mr. Sakaki, seeing as we rescued him from his abductors.� Turning Larabee saw that Ezra and Vin had returned.
�Who also happened to be the people that killed Director Urban,� Vin added.
�Where are they?� Alister asked, scowling darkly.
�Left them secured to a couple large trees in the forest, sir,� Vin said softly. �Ezra put a spell on them to keep them from waking up for a while.�
Alister nodded and signaled to a couple wardens. �Show them where,� he ordered Vin. Vin nodded and disappeared with the pair.
�Why would anyone kidnap you?� Yurika asked, a teasing tone in her voice.
Haruto frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. �How should I know?� he grumbled.
Ezra sighed deeply and touched Alister�s shoulder. In a whisper, he explained, �Mr. Sakaki is a Windstar. They needed him to open the safe and obtain the Auram Manuscript.�
Alister nodded once and turned to Amon. He repeated the message and added, �It�s up to you whether you to tell the rest of your team or not.�
Amon frowned thoughtfully and turned to the girl. �Leave it, Dojima,� he ordered briskly. �The important thing is that he was rescued and is unharmed.�
�Are you alright?� Robin asked gently. Haruto blushed and nodded, but didn�t say anything. He was clearly embarrassed at having been kidnapped at all and didn�t want to talk about it any further.
Keenan smiled up at Amon and said, �So, does this sort of excitement tend to follow you around?� Amon shrugged silently, but nodded a moment later. �Yeah,� Meadows chuckled. Shaking his head, he added, �We won�t invite you to the next party.�
Amon blinked in surprise and gave him an incredulously look. Keenan smiled disarmingly at him; then turned to Bertram and said, �I think that takes care of everything. We can leave whatever�s left to Shinta�s team.�
�Sounds like a plan,� Bertram agreed.
Himura�s eyes widened and turned to Chris, shaking his head. �I need to lie down,� he admitted morosely. �My head still aches and I feel� sick.�
Chris patted his shoulder. �I�ll take care of your team, Shinta.�
The half-elf smiled gratefully and turned to the members of his team. �I need to� see to some other details,� he said cryptically. �Agent Larabee will direct you in my absence.�
Larabee watched and Shinta quietly left the room; then turned to the Delta team. �Okay,� he said. �Ran and Youji can guard the manuscript, Ken and Omi can run a patrol outside and make sure that�s secure and�� he trailed off. �Where�s Ayemi?�
�Roof,� Ran said succinctly. �Watching the front entrance.�
�She�s fine there,� Chris said, nodding. When none of them moved, he glared at them and said, �Why are you still here?� The four blinked at each other for a moment, then quickly scattered away from him.
�I think I wish Shinta had stayed,� Ken admitted as he quickly retreated from the blonde. �Larabee�s just as scary as Ezra always says he is.� Omi nodded and trailed after his partner in silence.
End.