Colin MacGregor

Colin jogged along the street towards Tim's Bakery. He had overheard CJ and Liz talking about grabbing breakfast there after the mission last night, and was hoping to talk to them about how things had gone. Need tae see if they're gwan to blame Ryan for gettin' her in a piss. Liz seemed a bit put out by him tryin' tae calm the spook down.

He passed the front door when he saw CJ sitting in a corner booth, accompanied only by a couple doughnuts and a newspaper. With a grin he popped through the glass window and slid through the table to take a seat opposite her.

She glanced up at him, nodded in greeting, then returned her as yet uncaffeinated attention to her breakfast of coffee and fried sugar.

Colin grinned and took a look at the newspaper. She had folded back to the local section, and the discovery of White's body had made the sectional cover story.

Nodding in satisfaction, Colin looked from the paper to CJ's half eaten breakfast. "I miss donuts. We'd walk down tae Dunk'n after school all the time."

She nodded again, then looked back up at him with a concerned expression. "I don't mean to be rude, but you're looking...well, less here than usual. Maybe it's just the change in outfit."

Colin looked down at his black shirt, pants, and leather jacket and smiled tiredly. "Nay, ye have the righ' o' i'. Though one o' the reasons I go for the bright shirts is tae sor' o' make up for normally bein' pale. Jus' wiped ou' this morn. Las' nigh' took a lo' ou' o' me."

CJ nodded. "Kind of like how Ryan couldn't manifest last night after attacking Regina. Drained of energy."

"Exactly, lass. We can regain our strength by restin', jus' nay as fast as if we were still alive. Tha's why they tend tae group ghosts with quick agents like yuirself and Liz."

CJ made another face, this time before taking a sip of coffee, making her distaste of Liz more visible.

Colin just chuckled. "She's nay tha' bad, lass. I'm sure she'll loosen up a bi'."

"Lass, I ha'e tae ask. If ye keep makin' faces like tha', why do ye drink the stuff?"

CJ stopped with the cup halfway to her lips and glanced down at the steaming black liquid, then back at the ghost. "I don't make a face. What are you talking about?"

"Anyway," now CJ sounded defensive, "it's hot. If I were making a face, and I'm not saying I do, it's just dealing with the coffee being hot." She looked up and made a small wave towards the door. "There's Sean."

Colin turned around and saw the other Skimmer at the counter getting a bagel and smiled.

"I was kind of surprised you weren't already here when I arrived." CJ turned her attention back to the young Irishman. "Not having to sleep and all, I figured you or Ryan would be the first to show."

He shrugged. "I was typin' up tha' bluidy debriefin' repor'. Infernal machines. They really heed tae find a way tae let us use those without goin' solid. Ryan's lucky on tha' coun', bu' I ha'e tae use the real comp in me office. Verra tirin'."

Colin propped his elbows on the table and put his chin on his hands as Sean walked up.

"How are you feeling, after all that last night?" CJ studied her new partner with a critical eye.

"Not entirely sure yet...wondering if there's any aftereffects from being "entranced" by her." Sean shuddered. "Especially after seeing that she had turned into a black-squidipus-amoeba like thing while I was under."

"Yeah, well, thanks for breaking her hold. Lemme know if I can ever do anything to pay you back."

"'k...just don't go all "Irish Mafia" on me." Sean winked at him. "I'd hate to wind up owing..."

Colin had gone rock still at the mention of mafia, and suddenly jumped up and bolted out through the wall.

"...huh?" Sean stared at the place where Colin had been sitting as CJ groaned. He shot her a confused look. "Umm, did I do something?"

CJ set the paper down and drew her lips into a tight, thin line. She sat up and took her coffee in hand as she formed a reply. "Sean, Colin was killed by the Yakuza, Japanese mafia. I was assigned to the case when they found his body," she looks over at the skimmer. "He'd been dead for nearly three weeks, drowned, held head first in a bathtub filled with water."

She sipped the coffe and sat back, curling her legs up and into the seat. The steam from the coffee rose up in front of her face. "I'd lay way back on the mafia cracks. At least where Colin is concerned." She fixed him with a harsh blue stare. "And me."

The skimmer nodded. "My apologies. Shit." He looked out the window but there was no sign of the kid.

CJ picked her paper back up and read over the White story again, while Sean sat in silence, absently nibbling on his bagel.

"Catch you in a while, CJ. I'm gonna get back to the office and check on something."

Without a further word, Sean stood up and left the shop, leaving CJ to read her paper alone as 'Margaritaville' began playing on the Muzak system.

The ex-cop glared at one of the speakers and grumbled. This song is bad enough without being reduced to a Kenny G version.

Her ire was distracted shortly, however, by Liz's entrance into the cafe where she quickly ordered a cappucino and a large slice of coffee cake.

CJ returned a half-hearted wave and plastered a fake smile on her face. My God, she thought. Even her hair is bouncing.

"Hey there, Inzmann. Anything interesting in the papers today?" Liz slid into the seat Sean had recently abandoned and attacked her cake with gusto.

CJ nodded. "Oh, yeah. Love the write up about our find in the woods last night." She set the folded paper on the table.

Liz nodded, then frowned. "I just saw Sean wandering back over to the Orpheus building. He seemed a little down. Still bothered by last night? I mean, it wasn't his fault, could have been any of us."

The cop chose her words carefully. "Sean stepped on a few toes. No worries. We're all just learning each other's backgrounds right now." She gave Liz a genuine smile. "I'm sure the lad won't hold a grudge."

Regarding CJ closely, Liz raised an eyebrow. "Managed to offend Colin, did he? Well, that's probably not hard. Regardless of anything else, he's only 16, and kids that age shift moods like Atlanta weather. It'll probably blow over."

Narrowing her eyes, CJ decided not to say anything, and simply took another sip of her coffee.

Before she could respond to Liz's question, another woman's voice interrupted. "I hope you don't mind if I join you?" The two crucible partners looked up to see Kate Dennison standing near the table. "I would like very much to hear your perspectives first hand. So much tends to get left out of the reports, you know."

The two seated women shared a glance, in some instinctual bonding of a team against senior management, but Liz said "Certainly, Kate. And good morning."

"Morning," Kate replied as she sat down with her almond espresso. "Please, continue."

CJ sipped on her coffee as she toyed with the edge of one of the donuts on her plate. "I think in truth, we got more questions than we have answers for and I also think we haven't really solved anything. Sure, we got the agents back, but what was up with Miss White? What was all that black and nasty?"

She sighed. "I really need to get back into the office and finish up my debriefing. I'm just too tired."

Kate nodded and took a long drink from her espresso. "Questions indeed. I think though that with your crucible working at full capacity, you'll have the skills to answer many questions that we've not been able to answer before."

"Now", she continued, "I understand that you confirmed the existence of a PLE over three years old?"

CJ pursed her lips and nodded slowly. "Yes...which begs an argument about the three year shelf life of a spook. Thought maybe that news would perk Colin up a bit." She frowned.

"Well, current scientific theory states that the material plane - that is, what we call living reality - is like the base of a pyramid. Stacked on to that base are the extra-material planes, the largest being the primary extra-material, which is the next level of existance after death. Because of our ties to life, sometimes energies fail to pass on completely to the primary extra-material - thus you get ghosts, spooks, etc."

CJ winced as she listened to Liz, but the ex-FBI Agent seemed oblivious to the fact she'd lost her audience.

"However, there is also a theory that states that the secondary and tertiary extra-material planes are somehow interconnected with the primary. This helps explain the "negative" doppelgangers of PLEs. My theory is that Ms. White's primary self somehow was merged or melded with one of her subsequent selves, creating the black and nasty effect.

"That's the short version anyway. I spent most of last night discussing it with the guys in Science and Research when I went to return my equipment."

CJ nodded, her right eyebrow arched. She narrowed her eyes and peered intently at Liz. "Does it hurt when you have to think like that so early in the morning? I mean, it must be interesting to live on your planet..." she smirked. "If a bit lonely."

Liz shot her a dirty look. "Some of us are in this for more than the thrill of shooting things, CJ. I wish we hadn't been forced to disperse that entity last night. I would have liked to have studied it further."

"And some of us are in this with a bit of compassion. Not much, mind, but a bit. How do you think Colin or Ryan would take it if you talked about them like a lab experiment? On the whole, though, I'm glad it's dead. Or dead in a manner of speaking." She sipped on her coffee and continued picking the glaze from her donut.

"Well, anyway." Liz looked a little taken aback, but continued on. "Kate, if I might make a suggestion? I think it might benefit some of our Crucible members to have at least some cursory training in team strategies for high-risk field operations. We worked relatively well, given the circumstances, but we still had alot of potential to fall apart."

CJ nodded quickly. "Okay, I agree with Liz there. I think the Spooks need to get a bigger handle on team playing. I mean, I'm happy they have such great initiative, but Colin simply charging into any given building might end up biting him in the ass one day..." she paused, her thoughts filled with the nasty thing they'd battled the night before. She turned a serious face to Kate. "Literally."

With a frown, Kate looked at both of them. "I'd really hate to think that Silas, who is your project leader, is not advising you on team strategy. That is why he is leading your crucible."

CJ raised her right eyebrow. "No - not a single uselful bit of information. His idea of team unity is calling me Biker Bitch - which, I might add - has not endeared me to him in the least." She set her coffee down and picked up the paper again.

"Indeed. Highly unprofessional, in my opinion. Whether it was accurate or not." Liz struggled to contain her grin while CJ shot her another look but refrained from comment.

"Well, I can only suggest you take your concerns up with Silas and the rest of your crucible. You're going to have to learn to work together, and while it may take time, I have every confidence in you." With a final sip of her espresso, Kate sat the now empty cup down on the table and stood.

CJ sighed as, predictably, Liz smiled cheerfully. "I finished mine and filed it this morning. Should be waiting when you return."

CJ stood as well. "Yes, I should get back and, er, work on my report." And try and find the inner strength to deal with that *bounce*.

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Last Updated: January 2, 2004 by Blake Sorensen

#0766 - The Day After

October 28, 2003