Josh headed back to his office, dumping the bundle of files which had been weighing him down. Bumping into Kate Calloway had been an unexpected pleasure. Mind you, by the startled look on her face, he had the feeling that something wasn't quite right. Then again, why didn't that startle him with this place. He'd been hearing mumurings lately, worrying murmurings, and like almost everyone around here, he was being cautious because of it. But, rather than go paranoid, which was easy to do around here, he'd long ago taken the decision to battle through the mystery and rumours. No need to worry about them, at least until they started to include your name!

Josh looked at his calender for the day. He had over an hour before he was due to deal with the next crop of students. Plenty of time to have a coffee with Kate and see if he could provide some answers for the questions she had. Who knew what sort of questions they could be! But, he was more than appreciative of the company he was going to be keeping. He stepped into the outer office, and glanced in Suzanne's direction.

"I'm just going for a coffee break, I won't be gone that long!"

"Going out for coffee? But you usually..."

"Everybody needs a change now and then! I won't be too long. I've got the beeper if you need me!"

Suzanne looked at him curiously, and watched him as he opened the door and stepped out, almost collecting Kate Calloway as he did. Suzanne raised one eyebrow slightly, then resumed her work, barely covering her smirk.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to run into you like that", said Kate, slightly flustered at their collision.

"No harm done, I wash just on my way down to see if you were ready anyway! All sorted out with Kelvin...Director Thacker?"

"I join Unit Echo in the morning."

"Good Unit, Echo. I'm sure you'll fit right in. So, they've given you some time to kill? How will you cope?", teased Josh, knowing that there were never enough hours in the day at the best of times, let alone when assignment was involved.

"I'm sure I'll manage. Shall we go?"

"Indeed. I know the perfect little place, not far from here!"

Moments later, they exited the concrete monolith that was the J.Edgar Hoover building and walked about half a block away. Nestled amongst the shops on the ground floor of one of the many tall buildings which were predominant in this area was a quaint place, unobtrusive to the casual observer. Josh opened the door, and allowed Kate to enter first, stepping into a whole new world. Being mid-morning, much of the smoky atmosphere that usually permeated this place had been vanquished by the ventillating system, so some of the mystique and atmosphere, at least for a time, had been parcelled away. In contrast to the raucous sound and smoke-filled atmosphere of the evenings, mid-morning it had a nice, homely atmosphere, relaxed and less boistrous, but still comforting to those that knew it and were regulars.

Kate took in this atmosphere, as well as taking in her surroundings. The room had an assortment of booths and tables scattered around it, as well as a long bar along one side. In the back, the rattle and clatter of a busy kitchen could be heard. Along all the walls were dozens of photos, momentos and framed paper clippings. Taking a moment to take a close look at a couple by the entrance, she realised that they were all related to F.B.I. investigations.

"What is this place?"

"It's called Hoover's Hollow. It almost has legendary status in the Bureau. It was opened by a Bureau agent when he left the Bureau, as a place where Agents could get together and relax, without the hassles of the day to day case load. It's atmosphere is almost like the different sections of the Bureau. The atmosphere varies throughout the day, dependent upon the time and the crowd, but there is still an ongoing link and common ground."

"You sound like you come here often?", Kate teased.

"Josh Peters, who let you out of the cage?"

The two of them glanced in the direction of the bar, following the voice which had boomed across the room. Those who were already in the place glanced in their direction, then continued on with their conversations. A man in his early sixties, greying and balding, appeared to be the owner of the challenging voice. They headed over to the person who tossed the verbal assault in Josh's direction.

"Ernie, it's been a little while. How is the place holding together? Still taunting the young and old alike, and threatening them with your stories?"

"Taunting the youngsters? Threatening stories? This from one of the resident listeners in the Bureau. I never heard you complain. By the way, aren't you going to introduce me to the beautiful woman you have brought with you?"

Ernie's eyes danced with the taunt and verbal nudge, reminding Josh he did have company.

"But, of course! Ernie Douglas, may I introduce Special Agent Kate Calloway, a recent addition to our Division. Kate, I'd like to introduce you to Ernie Douglas, proprieter of Hoover's Hollow, former member of the Bureau for 35 years and master storyteller of this establishment."

"How do you do, Mr. Douglas?"

"Please, call me Ernie. We're all family down here. And it is a real pleasure to meet you, Kate. It isn't often that Josh comes in here with such a beautiful companion."

Kate gathered herself quickly from Ernie's forwardness, and leapt at the chance provided.

"You bring all of your dates down here, Josh?"

"No, I try to keep them away from this sweet talking devil. And I wasn't aware that this was a date!", he retorted, earning a sharp look in response.

"Well, why don't you two kids take a seat, and I'll organise some refreshments for you. Coffee do the two of you?"

"That'll be fine, Ernie. Thanks!", answered Josh for the both of them, providing a means of avoiding Ernie's renowned ability to build a conversation out of a single question.

They position themselves at a small table at one end of the room, falling victim for a moment to the peaceful, quiet and partly awkward nature of this place. Kate's mention of the word date had caught Josh offguard a little. He hadn't really thought about it along those lines, until now. Kate broke the ice.

"Ernie's a real character."

"That he is. One of the reasons so many people come back to this place. He's almost the source of the atmosphere around here. He'd seen more of the Bureau in his lifetime than most of us can imagine. He's probably closer to the unofficial archives of the Bureau, and knows more about it's past and present than anyone. If there's something going on, be it in the Bureau or in Washington as a whole, Ernie usually knows about it. Of course, none of us know how he does it, but he does."

"You have a lot of respect for him?", it was more a statement than a question.

"Yeah. He'd the closest thing I have to family around here. He's always been there during my time with the Bureau. I started off working for him, and it grew out of that. What with the family out at Fightertown and rarely getting to see them, I often spent holidays working for Ernie, so we became like family. He's the closest thing I have to a grandfather, with all his stories, although he'd kill me if he ever heard me say that!"

"I'd kill you if I ever heard you say what?"

"Nothing!", feigned Josh in shock, bring laughter from both he and Kate.

"You'd never make a good CIA man, Josh. You can't lie to save yourself!"

"It's a wonder I even survive in the Bureau?"

"You've got enough brains to compensate, and avoid situations that could complicate things!"

At that, a shadow crossed across Kate's face, which didn't go unmissed by either of the two men present. Ernie raised an eyebrow slightly, which Josh also noted, and Josh quickly continued.

"Must have something to do with my teacher!"

"Giving old man walker credit again? That balmy old bastard wouldn't know how to find his way out of a tin can. Don't know how you even got through training with him as your Trainer."

"Must have been the additional help I received!", he said, making a slight indication with his eyes to show that it might be time to leave them be.

"On that note of gratuitous ego boosting, I might get back to work. Nice to meet you Kate. I'll talk to you later, Josh!"

"Yes boss", he saluted, earning himself a playful tap on the arm from Ernie, who turned and returned to his work.

"Somehow, I can understand why you two get along so well. But do you always try to outdo each other?"

"Absolutely. Keeps him young, and keeps me on my toes. Who knows, one of these days I may just win one!"

"Oh, I dont know. I'd say it was fairly even!"

"No, Ernie was going easy on me, for your benefit. If he was really trying, I wouldn't have stood a chance."

"The Director struggling with something. Now that'd be a change!", she taunted, referring back to the state she'd found him in recently in his office.

"Happens now and then. Now, you said you had a couple of questions," said Josh, changing the direction of conversation after having glanced at his watch. One of these days, he'd just take an afternoon off!

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