Mid-West Campaign
Session Eighteen

Thursday, 16 November 2000 (continued)

Agents Black and Munroe go to visit Joshua Blackthorne at the general hospital in Des Moines. Black alters the notes on the end of the bed to ensure Blackthorne's examinations probe to the heart of the matter. When he is discharged later in the day, Josh can hardly walk.

The team receives word from Eisenstein that everyone except Jane is to commence the next case (DVL017) immediately. Jane is taken off active duty for three weeks due to her tendon injury. She returns to Wichita and plans to use the time to chase up a number of outstanding leads on past cases. Agents Blackthorne, Black and Steiger head to Grand Fawkes, North Dakota where they are to be met by a new member of the evidence response team, Special Agent Wendell Wells.

By mid afternoon the agents' plane touches down at the tiny, snow-filled airport in Grand Fawkes. It is -7°C when the group lands. Agents Wells is tall, tanned and jarringly enthusiastic about his assignment. He has heard about the rest of the team and is proud to work with them. He drives them the 100 miles from Grand Fawkes to Devil's Lake where they are to meet with their RCMP liaison, Niles Eliot. Wells briefs them on the case:

While investigating a drug-smuggling operation that ran between Winnipeg and Minneapolis the RCMP stumbled into a child pornography ring. Three of the paedophiles escaped across the border into North Dakota and are hiding in the badlands. The role of evidence response is to supervise Niles Eliot in his arrest of these men. The individuals in question are: Norton Binks (short and blonde, he was the director), Wilson Devereaux (an avuncular dark haired man who procured the children) and Andrew Edwards (a tall, striking, muscular man who starred in the films). They are all noted huntsmen who can survive in the wild. One of them is apparently packing a 12.7mm soviet anti-tank weapon.

The agents arrive at Devil's Lake and meet RCMP Constable Niles Eliot. Eliot fills in several details of the case and explains the maze-like quality of the badlands. They will have to go by horse, and they will be out of contact with the rest of the world. The group leaves after dinner and it soon becomes apparent that only Elise and Niles Eliot have any idea how to ride a horse or survive in the wild. Joshua is finding it particularly difficult and bemoans the loss of fine wine and classical music.

Friday, 17 November 2000

The agents in North Dakota make for the point at which the fugitives would have entered the badlands. They have twenty-five miles to cover which should take two days. It is snowing very heavily.

Saturday, 18 November 2000

Agents Black, Blackthorne and Wells become separated from Steiger and Eliot. The three eventually reunite with each other and set up a make-shift camp while they wait to be rescued. On the way to rescue them, Elise falls off her horse and hits her head on a rock. She nearly dies. The group are reunited come evening, and now Eliot leads everyone's horses to make sure no-one gets lost.

Monday, 20 November 2000

The agents enter the finally enter rocky maze into which the paedophiles fled two days behind schedule. In the evening Wendell's horse is attacked and (as the horse is tied to Wendell's leg) he goes to investigate. A eight foot tall wolf-man is eating the horse. Wendell, under the delusion he has superpowers engages the wolf-man in single combat armed only with his fists and a night-shirt. The creature bites Wendell infecting him with lycanthropy.

The fight wakes the rest of the camp who come out guns blazing. The wolf-man is killed three times, but each time it gets up again. Blackthorne is nearly killed as he is thrown across the camp. Elise has her assault rifle bent into a hoop by the beast. Artemis is untouched. Eventually the body of the beast is dismembered and burned. Eliot calls such a creature one of the "wood folk" and says he has head legends about them. The bite Wendell took has already healed. Wendell puts this down to his own innate 'healing factor' and doesn't tell the rest of the party to protect his secret identity.

Tuesday, 21 November 2000

Blackthorne and Elise are in a very bad way, and want to go back. Wendell thinks it is a bad idea. Since the wolf attack is increasingly paranoid that the pair are up to something. Eventually, Blackthorne agrees that he and Elise should camp at this point while the others go after the paedophiles.

That night in North Dakota, Wendell turns into a werewolf while in the same tent as Artemis. Fortunately, his super hero ethic overrides his lycanthropic blood lust and he returns to Blackthorne and Elise to 'protect them' from the other werewolves that are undoubtedly out there. He doesn't realise that he is a wolf. Blackthorne shouts to Elise that there is a wolf near the camp, pointing at Wendell. Wendell thinks he means there is another werewolf and runs off to look for it. This takes him all night. The following day he is obsessed with a villain called "The Wolf".

Wednesday, 22 November 2000

Late in the afternoon Agents Black, Wells and Eliot reach a cliff face and discover the bodies of three men. They have been ripped apart, probably by the werewolf. They recover five frozen hands for identification and head back. In the evening Wendell changes into a werewolf again, and again he heads off to protect Blackthorne and Elise. This time, however, Artemis sees him. When he is sure Wendell is gone, he alerts Eliot and the pair give chase.

This time Wendell's bloodlust nearly overwhelms him to attack the agents, but his insanities manage to keep it at bay. When Blackthorne and Elise shoot at him, he believes they are shooting at another werewolf and again he goes off to find it.

Thursday, 23 November 2000
Thanksgiving

Artemis and Eliot arrive at Blackthorne's camp in the morning and inform the agents that the werewolf is Wendell. Fortunately last night was the last night of the full moon. Meanwhile Wendell arrives back at his camp to find Artemis gone and wolf tracks everywhere. He gathers his equipment and hurries back to Blackthorne. The group have a rather muted Thanksgiving dinner of tinned turkey. Everyone eyes Wendell suspiciously, but he doesn't notice.

Monday, 27 November 2000

Agents Blackthorne, Steiger, Black and Wells return to civilisation. Eliot Niles returns to Canada. Blackthorne informs Eisenstein of what happened to Wendell expecting Eisenstein to get rid of him. However, he thinks that Wendell current abilities could be an "asset" to the team as long as he is properly managed.

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