Night Shift

Volume 2, Episode 1

Wednesday, November 10th, 1999.  It's been a week of IAD-induced hell.  Lt. Therius gets assigned new personnel pending an Internal Affairs investigation into Officer Skip Sparkypants' activities, during which Officer Knight is reassigned and Sparkypants is suspended; Sgt. Fisher gets away with a warning.  Although Special Operations is not being dismantled and Lt. Therius is still in charge, new personnel are being brought in; Therius gets a stack of resumes to pick from.  Lt. Therius briefs the new team members on the recent files.

A burglary has just been reported; normally, this would not be assigned to the SOB, but in this case several of the stolen items may be sensitive (registered special devices and special weapons).  While Lt. Therius meets with the DA to discuss the Kelvinator's transfer, the SOB team, led by Sgt. Fisher, investigates the case.  Mr. Glenn Forrest, A.E. "The Green Hunter", had put his house on the market (he refers to it as The Glade); the keys for visits were in a lockbox at the door.  During Mr. Forrest's absence while he was working, someone burglarized the house and stole the valuables.  The house has been ransacked, though it appears to have been for search purposes rather than vandalism.  The key is still in the lockbox. 

The house is a good-sized estate in upscale 'Salem Heights, with three-car garage, covered front porch, wrap-around porch, storage area, great room, loft / balcony, covered rear porch, sloping lot, view lot, finished underground lair basement, walk-in closet, daylight basement, peninsula/eating bar, volume/vaulted ceiling, main floor master bedroom, nook / breakfast area, walk-in pantry, open floor plan.  The grounds have been impeccably landscaped by Mr. Forrest.

Mr. Forrest is groundskeeper at the Applied Scientific and Technical Research Organization Laboratories (ASTRO Labs).  His powers are a sort of cross between Plant Man and Dr. Strange; he has mystical powers over vegetation and is a devoutly practicing Wiccan.  He has very good pay and benefits at ASTRO Labs, and his concerned that this will also hurt his job, even though he received a very thorough background check when he was hired.

Mr. Forrest put his house on sale because he and his wife are divorcing.  His wife is Ms. Opal Sterling, A.E. "Countess Metallo".  Ms. Sterling is a designer for Power Rings'n'Things, a fashionable jewellery.  She is anxious to sell the house so she can buy a luxury condo in town.  She is also angry that some of her jewellery was stolen.

The list of people who registered with the real estate agent to visit the house includes about 20 names, primarily well-off yuppies.  The real estate agent is Felicia Riddick, A.E. "Pride Baroness".  She works for Century 25, drives a Fjord Vigilante which she frequently double-parks, and generally acts hurried and impatient, yet superficially cordial.  She is worried about what this will do to her career, but at the same time can't resist trying to (A) sell something to one of the investigators, or (B) convince them to make her numerous parking tickets "go away". 

The list of stolen goods is not complete yet, as Mr. Forrest and Ms. Sterling are still completing their inventories.  At this point, it does include not only valuables such as jewellery, expensive clothes, and the home entertainment center, but also trophies, registered special devices and weapons, and mystical artefacts.

While his team investigates the burglary, Lt. Therius meets with DA Robert Malina and Assistant DA Frank Osmond.  The DA asks Therius to personally oversee the protection measures for The Kelvinator's transfer to an alternate parallel as part of the witness protection program.  He says the Big K has asked for Therius to be there.  The Kelvinator is currently testifying in front of a grand jury.

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