Mid-West Campaign
Session One Hundred and Six

Thursday, 25 October 2001 [continued]

[Time travel mars this session synopses. Events late in the evening of 26 October alter some of the events that took place before hand. As always, events in blue type did not really happen in the new and amended time line.]

The scene that greets Burchill and Jackson is a puzzling one. McCollins is unconscious in a pool of sick and seems to be glazed with virgin olive oil. Drake is sitting up next to him reading a book. Elise is lying on the ground unconscious. Faulkner and Jane are standing in the centre of this carnage looking rather bemused. The pair talk to Jane, but get absolutely nowhere with her, as she now seems to be of the opinion that it's right and proper that Drake should be reading that book, which is rather at odds with everything she has said over the past four hours.

Jane's telephone rings. It is Bradley Ecks calling from his motel room in Montana, and wondering where the rest of his team are. Ecks talks to Jane who seems to be making no sense at all. He asks to be passed onto Burchill. Coming to the conclusion that everyone is bewitched, Ecks orders Burchill to taser Drake.

Jane heads down to the river to fetch some water to clean up McCollins before having him shipped to hospital. Both Drake and Jackson draw their tasers and fire repeatedly at Drake who, despite the fact he doesn't move and the fact he is only sitting twelve feet from them, manages to evade their shots. It is unclear whether magic or simple ineptitude is at work. Drake accidentally shoots Jane in the back and renders her unconscious.

Eventually, Jacques Jackson gets a shot in and electrifies Drake. Now Drake, Jane, Elise and McCollins are lying on the ground unconscious. Jackson takes the book from Drake, removes the page and places the two items in separate evidence bags. Burchill reverses up the hire car and throws the agents into the back. He and Jacques race off to the hospital leaving an utterly baffled Captain Faulkner standing in the middle of a field next to a slowly sinking Ferrari.

The aroma of vomit and virgin olive oil causes Burchill to throw up all over the dashboard on the way to the hospital (Jacques tried to catch it in a bag but then thought better of it). By the time they arrive at Joplin General, Jacques needs a new pair of trousers and Burchill needs a good hosing down with the rest of the agents.

The trouserless Jacques takes one of the doctors to one side and demands that Drake be heavily sedated because he is a dangerous man. However, Jacques his not very convincing. His lack of etiquette and generally unbelievable accent results in him being grabbed by two orderlies, held down and sedated. The drug takes a surprisingly long time to silence the tirade of threats and abuse.

The doctor is a little embarrassed when Burchill arrives to see Jacques being wheeled off into an isolation. The doctor didn't believe that Jacques would possibly be an FBI agent, and quickly gets Burchill to sign a waiver promising not to sue him. Burchill gets Drake sedated and (on Ecks's advice) sedates everyone else as well until the senior agent arrives.

Ecks finally gets to Joplin in the early evening. He meets with Dr Acton who questions why all the agents arrived in the state they did. Channelling memories of his triumph at Dallas University, Ecks invents madly. He says that the agents were trailing a dangerous serial killer who uses hallucinogens. In their purest form, the hallucinogens cause uncontrollable vomiting. He suggests that all the agents be kept together in the same room and sedated until the following day. He then takes the dangerous book and FedExs it and the page to separately to Artemis Black.

One more thing though: where is Faulkner? Ecks asks Burchill, but Jack hasn't got a clue. Ecks contacts Artemis's office and gets Faulkner's phone number and then gives him a call. Faulkner is on a jet back to the UK. He has seen enough to make a full report to his superiors. Ecks cannot imagine that this is a good thing.

Friday, 26 October 2001

The following morning, fate conspires to have Alex Drake awaken first. Jedidiah is in control again, and Drake gets up to leave. McCollins regains consciousness and sees Drake on his way out of the door. Once again it is up to him to stop Drake. He casts the only spell he knows on the door. A wibbly yellow sigil appears in the air to prevent Drake from leaving. Jedidiah knows a way past this however - remove McCollins! He advances on the bed-ridden agent, so McCollins casts the spell again on himself. He has forty minutes of safety.

Unfortunately, at this point Doctor Acton and a couple of orderlies are doing the rounds. The orderlies almost lose their minds at the big glowing sigil, and he doctor is horribly perplexed. He goes and gets the hospital administrator. A few minutes later Ecks finds the administrator and the doctor looking at the doorway. He resists the magic and walks through the sigil as if it wasn't there. He pretends to be puzzled by the pair's reaction, and says that the room may be contaminated by the serial killer's hallucinogens.

Drake demands to be released (in Jedidiah's spooky voice), but this time no-one is buying it. All the agents will be released at 5:00pm. Ecks wants to take everyone to Quantico to get checked out. Jedidiah is happy to play along with this. He can sense that the book is heading toward Virginia.

Later at the offices of Artemis Black in Quantico, Virginia a special delivery leaves two foul-smelling parcels on the desk of Fit Nathan Harlow. Fearing terrorists are sending noxious chemicals to his boss, Harlow opens them up. He looks at the page first - it seems to be taken from a book about civil war Joplin. He quickly reads it. Then he turns to the book himself and reads that. In seconds Jedidiah Bartholomew is in his mind as well.

At that moment back in Joplin, Drake's mind suddenly clears. He no longer feels any compulsion to follow the book. He is free. But does that mean someone else is damned?

Fit Harlow buzzes Artemis. He wants the afternoon off, and feeds Artemis a story about having to help some homeless children. Artemis doesn't see through the deception because he doesn't care what his minions do in their private lives. As long as his coffee is made and his grapes are peeled then he is happy. He does comment on the smell coming form the packages Harlow is carrying. Nathan says that he will get rid of them.

In Joplin, Bradley Ecks begins to worry that something may have happened to the book in transit - how else to explain Drake's mysterious change of heart? He calls Artemis Black to make sure the packages arrived safely. Black (who is currently having trouble finding a replacement secretary) listens to what Ecks has to say. He denies receiving any such parcels and then, with dawning horror, he realises what has happened.

Quickly he springs into action. Commandeering Agent Judge from the office next door, Artemis leaps into his limo and speeds over to where Harlow lives. Judge is delighted to be out of the office and is packing enough hardware to stop a bull elephant. Jane telephones Artemis and tells him to be careful. They assume that Fit Harlow is more accurately "Demon Harlow". If he still has the powers of the Jade Pendant of talent then he is more than capable of killing Judge and Artemis with breaking a sweat. Artemis doesn't appear to be concerned. He is just going to talk to Harlow - or more accurately talk to Jedidiah. Jane suggests that they could offer Jedidiah the body of Josephine McKenna (case DL1034). Black says he will take it under advisement.

When the pair arrive at Harlow's house, he isn't there. Judge has the brainwave of telephoning Harlow and discovers that he is on a plane heading to Joplin! Jedidiah and the book are trying to get back to the library. Artemis quickly passes this news onto Jane. He decides to come to Joplin anyway because he doesn't trust Jane to do this right. At this point, Judge decides to give Artemis a little equaliser in case Harlow does go insane. He apparently liberated a number of energy weapons from an NTOPFOR delegation that came to Washington. The Colt .45 that Black now holds should be able to take down even the Demon Harlow.

Ecks and the rest of the team leave Joplin General for the airport to intercept Nathan. Before they leave, the bedridden McCollins takes Jane aside and tells her that there is a librarian still locked in a storage cupboard at the local library. Jane is understandably shocked. However, by this time the librarian had been found and, by the time the agents arrive at the library, the police have it cordoned off and there is an officer on the door.

The team approach and ask what has happened here. When it becomes obvious that the police officer has all the salient facts, Jane says that they are also looking for Agent McCollins who has gone rogue. The officer says that the whole matter has been passed onto Inspection Division, and an agent called Eva Talbot is on her way. Jane thanks the officer and the agents depart.

While trying (unsuccessfully) to obtain heavy assault armour from the local FBI office, Jane telephones Artemis and appraises him of the situation. He is not best pleased, but seems confident that he can deal with anything that Inspection Division can throw at him. He reports that he is landing shortly - his fast jet having outstripped the commercial aircraft that Harlow is travelling in.

By the time Fit Harlow's plane comes into land, Artemis Black, Judge, Jane, Ecks, Drake, Burchill and Jacques Jackson are waiting for it. Because Nathan trusts Jane more that anyone else, Artemis orders her to accompany him across the tarmac to speak to Fit Harlow.

Nathan knows why they are here. "Jedidiah doesn't want to be with Drake anymore," he says. The interview is quickly adjourned to Artemis's limousine in the car park. It is revealed that everyone who has ever been possessed by Jedidiah retain a tiny presence of the necromancer in their minds. It was this presence that drove Drake to Joplin when Jedidiah sensed that the book was under threat. Such a presence will also remain in Fit Harlow when he Jedidiah vacates his mind.

Fit Harlow's goal in coming to Joplin is simply to return the book to the library. Jedidiah's role is to protect this area. The book needs to remain in the library. Artemis's offer of a new body is no use to Jedidiah. He might remain dormant for centuries. Anyway, Jedidiah cannot offer much help in regard to Arioch. He is a necromancer, not a demonologist. His best suggestion is to kill the demon on Earth (which will force it back to Hell for one month), then go to Hell and kill it again. This would be a permanent solution.

There is something else that Nathan wants to know. Is this Harlow really a demon. He asks Jedidiah, but it is Nathan that replies: "The body is an effective human shell, but it is a demon incarnate with a spark of humanity." Nathan says that Jedidiah told him this today and he is a bit shook up about it. Jane says that they've all known for ages, which may not be the most politic thing to say at the time.

Demon Harlow begs that the rest of the agents do not try and screw him over. He has to remain in control, he has to keep being good. There is still a little bit of Nathan's psyche in the Demon Harlow. If they tried to remove that and unite it with the Nathan Harlow on Dominic's team then the demon would be released. Then the team would have two demons to deal with.

Artemis has heard enough. He will help Demon Harlow return the book to the library. However, there is still inspection division to deal with. He sends Agent Judge to the hospital to extricate McCollins: "No violence, no witnesses." The rest of the team then heads to the library - although after Drake crashes in the back of Artemis's limo twice, Artemis loses it and sends Drake, Burchill, Jackson and Ecks back to Wichita.

At the library, Eva Talbot has arrived. While Artemis and Jane go to talk with her, Demon Harlow uses the distraction to slip into the library and return the book. As he is doing so he gets a telephone call from Alex Drake. Drake is begging Jedidiah to teach him, but the necromancer isn't interested.

Artemis's charm and general oiliness seem to have little effect on Assistant Deputy Director Eva Talbot. She is not impressed by his summary of the incident as a bit of a pickle. In fact, she is livid and takes Artemis to task. Why wasn't McCollins suspended pending a psychological investigation? Artemis smoothes the situation as best he can. McCollins is "clearly an unhinged mind", and he assures Talbot that he is doing everything to locate him. As to why McCollins was allowed on the team, he was undergoing evaluation in Wichita. Artemis will have a word with McPike as soon as that agent comes out of intensive care.

Eva Talbot departs, but there is a distinct sense that she is not done with evidence response, and that is more than a little worrying. Artemis receives a call from Judge: he has the "body" and will smuggle it onto Artemis's jet.

Jane (rather persistently) raises the matter of Arioch and what they do next. It would seem Isidoro Cruz is the only one they know of who might be able to help, but how to locate him? Artemis says that he can pull a few strings with NTOPFOR and try to get a description and last known location, he will even support the team going to Mexico, but warns that once they are there they are on their own. They would be completely out of their jurisdiction and therefore vulnerable.

Jane suggests getting Benedict to go with them. Artemis could find out where he is (the Vatican, perhaps) and they could use the Time Door to travel through space and extract him. Artemis is unsure of this. Benedict has betrayed the team, after all. Jane defends Benedict: she worked with him for a long time, he wouldn't have betrayed them regardless of how conflicted he was feeling. If Artemis is so concerned about that, why not simply use the time door and pluck him from a point in the past before he defects to the Catholic Church?

The suggestion is made half-heartedly, but Artemis takes it very seriously. Why not do this? Satan doesn't approve of time travel, but Artemis suspects he will approve of this. After all, Benedict is telling the Church all about Satan's plans - presumably he will want to prevent all this. Samael turns up and says this is the case It seems out of character for Artemis to jump on the time-travel solution so readily, but Jane is so pleased that a plan is being formed to recover Benedict that she doesn't notice.

[Although the rewrite of the timeline means the above conversation could not have taken place, one can imagine the very similar conversation that replaced it. Jane, believing Benedict crucial to finding Isidoro Cruz, asks Artemis to redouble his efforts to find him. Artemis retains his memories of the past and realises that this is the moment he gave the order to extract Benedict from history. Jane is surprised but happy to be getting Benedict back. Confused? Read on and most should become clear.]

Artemis orders use of the Time Door, and sends Jane back to Wichita to work out the details. He, Demon Harlow and Judge go back to Quantico by fast jet. McCollins is lying on the floor of the plane in a body bag. He is heavily sedated, and Artemis decides to keep him that way for the time being. What to do with him? Fortunately, he is not as ruthless as Eisenstein. Artemis asked Judge to fake McCollins death, then it's just a question of rebranding and enforced plastic surgery. Judge says that a convenient car accident is forthcoming.

Ecks, Drake, Burchill and Jackson arrive back at Wichita in the early evening. Drake continues to pester Demon Harlow with telephone calls. Dominic's team have evidently concluded their work in Los Angeles because Todd O'Connell is back at headquarters. He and Jacques Jackson find a common interest in their sycophantic love of Artemis Black and Victim Schmictim. Fortunately, Jane isn't around to hear it.

When she does arrive she ignores Jackson's questions as to whether she really is case study "Mane Junroe", and talks to Todd about the time door. Jane remembers that Benedict was extremely upset that she had released Samael from Hell (Jane can appreciate that). At the time the team were based in New Orleans and working on case ES174 in Estelle County. Jane knows that he went to the Catholic cathedral in the city on 21 June 2001 after hearing what Jane had done.

However, they cannot snatch him at this point. The following day Benedict was instrumental in saving the lives of McPike and Malkin at the hands of deranged sorcerer Gerald de Tour. After that he was ordered to leave Estelle for fear of retaliation from the KKK. He was heading back to Los Angeles when he vanished. Jane gets Artemis on the phone. He agrees that they need to put a block on the one road out of Estelle on the evening of 22 June 2001. Benedict must have travelled along this road to get to New Orleans. Black suggests sending Burchill and Ecks through the door, as they are two people Benedict will not immediately suspect.

Todd does his voodoo on the time door and opens a portal to Friday 22 June 2001. Agents Burchill and Ecks step through to change history for the better.

[Here we go again. The original events of 22 June 2001 are depicted in Session 85. They remain documented in glorious blue type. What follows is now the true history of the day, as most people remember it.]

Friday, 22 June 2001

Benedict Oaxaca is heading out of Estelle. He has just been patched up by an attractive nurse called Lil (he has her number) and is heading on Artemis Black's orders to check into a large hospital in New Orleans. Having just shot dead a man he suspects is the grand wizard of the local KKK he is expecting trouble, and his hand instinctively slips to his gun when he finds the road barred before him.

However, Ben is surprised to see agents Bradley Ecks and Jack Burchill waiting for him. Ecks says that there has been a change of plans that Artemis needs Ben to follow them now. Ben agrees, gets back into his car and begins to follow Ecks and Burchill, but he is suspicious. There are doppelgangers out there after all!

From his car, Benedict telephones Artemis Black. It has been a rough time for Black since the success of Operation: Certain Death. The destruction of the west coast headquarters, the revelation that Jane released Samael, and then his own conversation with the Devil less than a day ago. When Benedict phones and tells him he is being led away by agents that Black never sent, he thinks matters are taking a further turn for the worse. He tells Benedict to stop the car, but refrain from shooting anyone. He telephones Jack Burchill.

Burchill's cell-phone rings. Whether the phone of the Jack Burchill of this time is also ringing is unknown. Fortunately, it is the time-travelling Burchill that picks it up. Burchill tells Artemis that they are from the future, and they are here on his orders. They are picking up Benedict before he "defected to the Vatican and told them everything." Ecks grabs the phone, "It's true, sir. You got the information from Archangel Michael when you released him from Hell."

Artemis weighs this over in his mind for a moment. If this is true then what he has just been told endangers the entire timeline. If he acts on the knowledge he will sunder history into two distinct timelines. However, that is assuming it is the truth. Telling Benedict to wait he pours two glasses of scotch and waits. Samael quickly turns up and confirms the truth of that is happening - and that it is in Samael's own interest for Benedict not to defect Catholic church. As Samael exists in all points in history simultaneously he has the knowledge of this sort of thing.

Artemis contacts Benedict and tells him that this Ecks and Burchill are from the future, but that he must go with them. Artemis reflects Benedict will disappear on this day, just as he did in what will soon be considered an old and defunct timeline. However, he will always know what happened to the agent and where he is although he must pretend to be ignorant. He also knows an opportunity will come to free Archangel Michael from Hell (presumably where Satan has imprisoned him). He must be ready to take that opportunity when it arises, but he cannot work toward it. It is frustrating, but he is Artemis Black and is made of sterner stuff than lesser men.

Back in Louisiana, Benedict is led by Ecks and Burchill to a glowing doorway. There is a pile of sandbags next to it. Burchill weighs Benedict and then makes sure they leave an equal mass of sandbags behind. Beyond the doorway, Benedict can see the mid-west HQ. He asks about the destination and Ecks says that it is four months in the future. The obvious question is why isn't Benedict in this future? Is he dead? They step through.

Friday, 26 October 2001 [continued]

The agents greet Benedict. Jane is pleased to see him again, although he is wary of her. Then the time door is closed by Todd, and history begins to reassert itself. Only Todd and (through an enormous feat of will) Ecks remember the previous timeline. As far as Jane and the other agents are concerned this is the truth: Benedict went missing on 22 June 2001. Two cars (including Benedict's) were found abandoned off the road between Estelle and New Orleans. Despite numerous investigations nothing was found and everyone believed Benedict to be dead. However, when it became apparent that they needed Benedict to track down the demon-hunted Isidoro Cruz, Artemis authorised time travel to snatch Benedict from the last possible moment that he knew him to be alive. This is the story Jane tells Benedict.

However, none of this has changed the person Benedict is. Artemis Black, sitting in his dark office in Quantico, knows that if Benedict was considering defecting from the team before his jaunt through time, he is still considering it now. Benedict Oaxaca may have returned to the team, but Black knows he will have to take some special precautions to keep him there.

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