16512/Thorns: Prologue

Thorns: Prologue
Date of Scene:	28 August 2024
Location:	Converted Safehouse, Brooklyn
Synopsis:	A new case falls in the lap of SHIELD which has far more questions than answers. (OOC Warning: Subjects include suicide and homicide. Do not read if you are triggered by these types of things!)
Cast of Characters:	Black Widow (Romanoff), Phobos

---

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
The briefing room was a familiar setting for any SHIELD agent that worked in the field, and many who didn't. It was used to be sure all agents had the same information without playing telephone. Sometimes it was simply to tell them the plan of action in a situation. Other times, it was to bring in more agents that might have some ideas or insight into a situation and may help to see it with a different perspective.

That was today's meeting.

There were a quite a few people present, including some senior agents, some members of Alpha Response team, a couple of the brains from WAND along with a couple of outside consultants who were brought in for special situations that might need their particular talents.

Natasha was there in her SHIELD uniform, second row from the back, about center of the theater type seating arrangement that made up the room. In the front of the room stood Doctor Wasselman. He worked in WAND but held a PHd in Criminal Psychology. The big screen was down but all that was displayed was SHIELD logo on a blue background.

No paperwork handed out but there was one of the Level 1 agents giving each person that had entered a tablet. It too only showed that SHIELD logo for the moment. Likely it would have the same information they would receive from the screen, but would allow them to manipulate the information as they wished while working on the problem at hand.

"I thank you all for coming on such short notice. While this briefing is about a problem that has been going on for months, we only have just recently had it passed over to us by the FBI," Doctor Wasselman began. He was an older man who, if one looked at him from the top of his head, had a hairline that matched the shape of the W in his last name. It had receded to about he halfway point except in the center, giving it that distinctive shape. He was a smaller man, frail of build, more used to being in an office than the field. Yet, he did end up with this case in his lap. "Each of you has been selected due to your understanding of the specific threat in this case. We may be bringing in additional consultants in the future," he added.

Then he clicked a button and the PowerPoint shift to a scene of what appeared to be a suicide. Then another click and a second was now side by side. A few more clicks and there were now 17 small windows on the screen, each with a very different scene but one that seemed to be a self inflicted death.scene.

"We have a serial killer on our hands."

Phobos has posed:
    It was fairly rare that Alexander's times and duties would overlap wiith Natasha's. She traveled in different circles than he did as he worked primarily security with the Tactical Response Team. Though, to be fair, there were times when he was tapped to take part considering his particular background. As he entered the briefing room it wasn't entirely clear to him which side of things had brought him there. And when he saw some of the more junior members of SHIELD there it muddied the waters even further.
    Then when he saw Natasha, it muddied even further. No sign of recognition or nod to their extra-curriculars. They played it professional when they were on the clock. Though they both had mastered that subtle way of smiling with just the eyes that others couldn't discern. He settled into his seat a few rows back, taking up the tablet. He gave a nod to one of his colleagues who happened to be there as well.
    hen when the presentation started he paid rapt attention.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
There was a momentary glance toward the door when it had opened to allow in the last few agents. That moment between her and Alexander meeting eyes then it was gone as they both remained professional and apart.

"As you can see by the images above, each of these scenes appears to be a suicide. And let there be no doubt, every victim did take their own lives."

There was a long pause as the doctor waited for that to sink in to those watching. He knew it was likely to confuse the matter even more yet he needed it to sink in because it was a very important point in this particular case.

"And as you can see, they did it in rather..." He paused but this time it was to be sure he chose the right word. "Unique and gruesome ways. You do not typically see someone stab themseles 53 times as in case number 3." That block highlighted briefly then it was back to just those 17 images of horror. "We do have a single matching thread for all the victims. They were all telepaths of some type." He clicked the button and the 17 gruesome images were replaced with candid photos of each victim, taken from the case files or from their social media accounts.

The doctor looked pointedly to each of the people in the room. "Each of you has been chosen as you either are, or have experience with, telepaths."

That got Natasha's attention when telepaths were brought up. She opened her tablet and started flicking through the images of each scene one by one then glanced back up as the doctor continued.

"We have next to nothing to go on at this point. Whoever is doing this is preying on telepaths and has been doing so for about eleven months. Seventeen kills in eleven months. And those are just the ones we can link to the case. Due to the telepathic abilities being involved, the FBI felt that SHIELD might be better equiped to deal with this threat. Thus far, all of the deaths have been in the United States. Though there is a theory that this happened previously in Austria about twenty years ago, there is no proof to support it. It just was an unusual rash of suicides in the country for about a year. Then it suddenly went back to normal numbers." Click and there were images of twelve older photos of people smiling on the screen. "And twenty years before that in New Zealand." New images, again older photos and some just blank silhouettes with a name beside it, of nine people.

"This makes us believe we may have about a month to try to resolve this, if it is the same perpetrator of course. Considering this is forty years apart, we can't be sure if it is or a copycat."

Phobos has posed:
    Alexander's eyes widened slightly at the revelation. Telepaths. And so many. If there was one in the room they'd likely sense his thoughts shift toward the realization that there were that many running around in the world that they could be systematically murdered? His thought about it? That it was interesting. And when he examined each photo he didn't shy away from their gruesome nature.
    A glance around is given as he considers the others in the briefing. There's a flicker of a desire to raise his voice though he holds it for now, awaiting the proper moment. When there's a lull in the delivery of the briefing he lifts his chin and holds up a hand just about to the height of his shoulder.
    When given the go ahead, Agent Aaron says, "Two questions." The young agent murmurs, words carrying. His words were measured as he said, "Possibly an individual of a longer life span? And do we have any telepaths assigned to this case?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
The doctor actually seemed relieved upon seeing a hand go up and thus allowing him to stop having to be the center of attention with some sort of prepared speech. Which wasn't much of a prepared one so much as flying by the seat of his pants because he hated public speaking and had promptly forgotten everything he was supposed to be saying after the first sentence. He should've listened to his assistant and used cue cards. But he felt they were a crutch and that would make him look like he was losing his edge.

He should've used the crutch.

"Yes, we have three telepaths in this room of varying levels." He motioned to one member of WAND, one of Task Force Alpha and lastly to one of the aids that had passed out the tablets. "Do not worry, none of them have powers of a level where they can invade your thoughts without you opening your mind to allow them in. We do have some consultants with SHIELD of higher power levels we also have messages out to in the hopes of getting some assistance."

Then he considered a moment before answering what had been the first question. "There is that possibility. The fact that every scene was made to look like a suicide is a very specific calling card and it isn't something we run into often. Not on a level like this where the Victim is the one actually... doing the deed, so to speak. Usually it is a killer that then stages the scene but not in all these cases."

He glanced to the screen and clicked to bring up all three sets of non-gruesome pics of all victims from the last 40 years and eleven months. "It could be someone long lived. We know that isn't as uncommon as it once had been. It could also perhaps be a ...mentor/student situation. Where one has taught another, be it a relative or just someone that was like minded, to pick up where they left off. With the skills in the first set of murders, we think this person had to be in their 30s at the time which would put them in their 70s now. Outside the telepathy, there is nothing else that links the victims. All different races, sexes, ages, religions, sexualities, and so forth. But as you can see from the crime scene photos from all the murders in this last eleven months and those of the past, the suspect is becoming more creative and more violent in the deaths. The number of deaths has increased but we do not know if this is due to the need to kill being stronger, or if it is simply because there are more people with powers now than there were 20 or 40 years ago. With the fact this person, if the same, can go without a kill for 20 years, we suspect the latter."

He looked around hopefully. "Any other questions?"

Phobos has posed:
    A few nods are given as Alexander lowers his eyes to the tablet. The metrics for the people using those tablets would be an interesting case study in deductive reasoning as each person likely was going through their own searches, delving into the data available in their own ways. For Alexander, one of the first ways he checks was seeing if there were records of power levels for the victims, to get a feeling for their relative strength as telepaths. But then he checks the mutant angle, linking off their social media and considering if that might be another point of overlap tacit to their telepathy.
    As he does these searches his own thoughts drift toward the telepaths he's known, though a particular purple-haired woman figures somewhat prominently in his thoughts. Likely he'll reach out in some form once they're off-line.
    He spares a moment to glance up across the room to where Natasha was doing her own investigation, his thoughts easing more toward imagining how she might be investigating and what her thoughts might be. Whatever they were now he'd likely hear them later on in the evening.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Each telepath seemed to be mid to low level. There was only one of them that was a higher level and they still weren't near the level of someone like Betsy Braddock or Jean Grey. There was absolutely no other link between them. Some of them were homebodies, other party people who went out every weekend. They literally had nothing in common outside their abilities. Though one note, they were not all mutants. At least three had gotten their telepathy through some means that was not by birth. Some accidental after a severe head injury, one after an encounter with another telepath who apparently gifted them the ability though details were sketchy on how it had come to be.

Natasha was actually going through each crime scene. She was looking for familiar tells, signs of various assassins she knew. Sadly, she was also coming up empty. As stated, it did seem each victim did the deed themselves and that made this even more terrifying.

A moment of furrowed brow then she glanced up as the lack of questions seemed to be signalling an end. The doctor moved to wrap up. "We do believe that the next victim, or victims, will be in the Tri-State area as the last seven have been in New Jersey and New York exclusively. We do know there are some powerful telepaths in Westminster area of New York and are unsure if they might be on the list of potential victims. We will be speaking to them all, both for potential consultation and to warn them to be cautious and report anything suspicious."

He clicked the button and the screen went blank behind him. "If there are no further questions, each of you are welcome to stay here to consult or you can work on your own, whatever gets the mind working for you best. We will meet tomorrow morning again at 0900 hours for ideas to be shared."

Phobos has posed:
    Alexander highlighted and marked the entry about the telepath having been 'gifted' their power. He tapped a small notation in there to himself though if someone checked the data stream they'd see him mark it, 'cultivating their own food?' which offered a few thoughts toward his insight into the matter, imagining it might be something other than thrill killing? But just one of those hunches that could be tossed aside as easily as it had arrived.
    As his tactical team colleague gets up to depart, Alex smiles up at her and nods, lifting a hand to give a small wave. He takes a deep breath and then considers the tablet before ticking a few more datapoints.
    Once most had left he opened a small quick chat window, typed in the message, then swiped up and across the way. Towards Natasha.
    Which on her tablet would open a request window for communication between tablets. Which if she allowed would display...

<< Thoughts? >>

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
<<Nothing similar in the killing styles. I thought it if was an assassin causing it, they would still use similar methods but dead end.>>

The response came back pretty quickly and Natasha had yet to budge from her seat as she continued to stare at the screen intently.

<<I want to hit the computers and do a search for all census records for the attacks from 20 and 40 years ago. See if any names might be the same, following on your idea of long lived. Not everyone is smart enough to cover their tracks.>>

Then a lift of her head and a glance around the room, as though just now realizing people were leaving. But it gave her a moment of eye contact with him.

Phobos has posed:
    To anyone observing it was just a brief moment, shared overlap of sight lines. Though with her ability to read people she could key into that subtle micro-tell, his eyebrows lifting ever so slightly. Then he looked back down and settled into his seat, tapping a quick response.

<< Some reason the idea jumped into my head of feeding patterns. Making me think we are missing victims or some unrecorded. Would want to see the pace of the killings if it signifies a steady 'consumption'. If the rate of murders has accelerated that could signify desperation if it's a thrill-killer, no longer getting the same vibe from the normal killings, could signify escalation. But I'm far from an expert. >>

    A pause, then he gets to his feet after typing something else. He turns and starts to walk toward the door. Only once he's there does she get the flick in her direction.

<< Chinese tonight? >>

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
<<Sounds perfect.>>

And she followed toward the door. Not just because he was exiting but she had just noticed everyone had practically left. Or to Natasha made it appear because appearance was everything in this situation.

She was just a moment behind him when he flicked that gaze back her direction. And if he responded on the tablet, it wouldn't be seen for now as she was holding it down in her hand at her side, the screensaver on to protect the data from prying eyes. They were in a building full of spies, after all.