[MD1, DELTA office, 8:55AM]

A week had passed since the attack on Craig and his subsequent abrupt resignation. The morale of the team was running a little bit low. Kate wondered if it was the situation with Craig or inactivity that was responsible. A little of both probably. They needed to be back out in the field, doing something. Well, she had the remedy for that.

Kate sat at her desk, pouring over the files she had gotten from the director a little while ago while she waited for the rest of the team to get to work. Just reading over the case file was making her a little nostalgic. Facts of the case aside, she couldn’t wait to get this meeting over with and get on the way just to see the mountains of Pennsylvania again. It wasn’t even that far away, and she wondered why she hadn’t taken the time to go up to Harrisburg and north into the Susquehanna Valley since her return to the East Coast. No time was the best explanation she could come up with.

One by one, the rest of the team trickled in and one by one, she directed them to the pot of fresh coffee and box of donuts she’d brought in. By the time she got to it, to her dismay, both maple logs were gone. Next time, she thought, she would have to move faster. When they were all assembled, Kate passed out folders to all of them, then sat on the corner of her desk to address the team.

"Three days, Special Agents Richard Lundgren and Gregory Cohen from the New York field office were assigned to transport a prisoner from Binghamton, New York to Pittsburgh. The prisoner, Kirby Matthews, was an important witness in the trial of a reputed drug lord."

"What’s that got to do with us," Newt asked, seeming a little confused. This wasn’t sounding much like an X-File so far.

"Yesterday, all three of them were reported missing. Their last known location was at a service station just off Route 154 in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania at approximately three-fifteen PM, two days ago when Agent Lundgren called his wife. They never made it to Pittsburgh and they have not been heard from since. Their route took them within a few miles of World’s End State Park." Kate noticed a few smiles at the name of the place and she nodded in acknowledgment of the irony.

"Professional hit to keep this Matthews from testifying," Sharlyn suggested.

"That’s one possibility," Kate admitted. "But there have been two other similar disappearances in that area in the last month. In one case a couple on their honeymoon and in the other, a family of four. No trace of any of the vehicles or the people has been found."

"What do the local authorities have to say about it," Flynn asked.

"Not much," Kate said. "They’re simply not equipped to deal with it. Sullivan County is very rural. I don’t think there’s a town in the county with more than a couple thousand people and the county sheriff’s department seems more than happy to turn the investigation over to us. The state forest service has sent in search and rescue teams, but they couldn’t find anything. Are there any more questions? Comments?"

"Okay, then. We’ve got a flight to Scranton at two o’clock. We’ll have to drive from there. I trust everyone can be ready by then?"

"It’ll be a stretch, but I think we can handle it," Dinah said.

"Good." As everyone got up and started gathering their things and heading for the door, Kate stopped them, grinning. "By the way, the fishing around there is great. If anyone is so inclined, I’d be willing to look the other way if you want to bring some gear along."


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