Briefing, Part I
Kathleen had answered her page from the clerk in the administrative office that Special Agent Andersen had arrived for her appointment. “Sergeant, please tell her that I will be down in a few minutes.” She then hung up the phone. Her eyes read the hands of her watch to confirm the time. Jill had arrived earlier than expected.

She quickly saved her reports, closed her windows, and then logged off her laptop. The tour was going to take up most of the day, and Colonel Wentworth had personally asked that she accompany the Agent throughout the day. It was kind of cool that she was going to be the one to show Jill around, which also included a helicopter ride to Argonne National Laboratory.

At the elevator lobby, the Captain glanced at herself in a mirror, wearing her gray digital patterned combat uniform. She did not particularly like the way she looked in the Army Combat Uniform, but the new zone commander insisted that medical personnel start wearing the ACU more often while on duty at the hospital. At first glance, she looked like any other soldier in the uniform and there was nothing to indicate she was a medical doctor. The only hint that she was in the medical corps was the AMEDD shoulder patch.

Truth be told, Jill had no idea what to expect. The grainy photos in the file on Lincoln Park -- Community Area 7 -- were one thing, though disturbing in their own right. The agent was sure seeing some of the mutations in-person would be quite the startling experience, which was why she decided to forgo lunch before arriving for her briefing with Dr. Forbes. Jill was relieved to know Kathleen would be showing her the facilities, more comfortable with someone she already knew than someone who had been nothing more than a name in a file. The agent smoothed out her hair, making sure her ponytail was snug enough for the occasion.

Her badge hung off the left collar of her navy blue business suit, Jill's look decidedly more conservative than it was when she had been at Wolfram & Hart. Dress codes weren't as strict there, but more than anything it was a change in Jill's attitude. Somehow, embellished cleavage and short skirts seemed to fit the evil lawyer bitch motif, while a solid-colored business suit with slacks seemed more apropos for the whole FBI thing.

She smiled when she saw Kathleen, though it took her a moment to recognize the doctor in her uniform. She was so used to seeing Kathleen in one of her dress uniforms or a white doctor's lab coat that the combat uniform was a little unsettling. Were they going to be going behind the wall? She didn't recall that being on the agenda. Then again, it probably came with the territory -- TC/SCI clearance was a two-way street in that regard.

If you wanted to learn the truth, you had to go extra lengths to get it.

"Dr. Forbes," she said, extending her right hand in a show of professionalism.

“Agent Andersen,” she shook Jill's hand and then flashed her smile. “It’s good to see you again. How have you been?” She asked. They had shared a few oddball emails and an occasional call since the last time they met.

"Pretty good," Jill replied, glancing at their surroundings and trying to take in everything. "Busy as all get out, but at least the FBI gave me clearance."

She walked step-for-step to Kathleen's left, glad she decided to forgo the high heels today. It sounded as if they'd be doing a lot of walking, and the last thing the agent wanted was to have her feet throbbing as she tried to pay attention during what was likely to be several debriefings. Even though Jill had studied the file on Community Area 7 thoroughly and repeatedly, she knew there were still things she had yet to be made aware of, and she wanted to absorb as much of that as possible.

"I appreciate you seeing me so soon," Jill added with a friendly smile. "I was half-expecting to have to jump through about 15,000 hoops to get here."

“We try to keep things simple here,” she continued down the corridor to the main lobby of the hospital. “I was told you wanted to see some mutants in the wild.” She looked her way for a moment and then continued forward. “I heard they don’t come out to play in daylight, and I am not sure they very much appreciate coming out to play in the snow, either.”

She paused a moment to press the metal plate on the wall to open the automatic double doors. “I didn’t think you wanted to take a tour of the quarantine wards or my little lab upstairs. So I thought we would skip that … unless you insist I show you how we draw blood into a tube.” She joked. The real research took place outside the Hospital, but unfortunately for Kathleen, she was restricted to looking at blood samples and going over paperwork when she was not doing a shift in the ER.

Jill gave a simple nod. "Actually, I read there are a few in captivity," she said. "I was hoping to see those as well."

The idea of flying over the quarantine zone was an interesting one; the agent was curious to see just how bad the surroundings looked on the other side of that wall, and she figured seeing that would be a good primer for when she was finally ready to approach the military about entering Lincoln Park on the ground. If what Jill read time and again was true, she wouldn't need a biosuit -- though she would likely have to watch for any mutants that might spring out at her.

That was, ideally, where the military standing post at the wall would come in handy. Then again, if Jill had a couple Slayers at her disposal, that would be even better.

"Do you know how many mutants are in government custody?" the agent asked, not really knowing of a better word for it. She doubted the mutants were prisoners -- probably more lab rats than anything -- but at the moment, that was the best Jill could come up with.

“I can’t really say,” she said as they came to a side exit that would take them out side. “Most are kept at Argonne, the rest are at Fort Detrick and other research facilities across the country.” The files that Jill might have read were not up-to-date or were not so detailed about government research.

Kathleen donned the field jacket that she had been carrying, and then zipped it up. The captain then reached into a side cargo pocket and pulled out her cap and a pair of gloves while they stood outside the door. “It isn’t really that cold out there, but that wind … killer.” She placed her cap on her head and started to slip on her gloves.

Why the file given to Jill didn't go into great detail with regards to the research of the actual mutants themselves was unknown, unless there was something the government found it didn't want a lot of people knowing. The agent knew what one particular report had said -- "results thus far have been inconclusive" -- but she couldn't help but wonder if that was actually the case. Equally as likely was the possibility of a high-ranking official telling the scientists to keep what the found under wraps. That sort of logic made no sense to Jill, but she'd at least been working with the federal government long enough to know that was sometimes the case.

The mutations were permanent, though, everyone seemed to know that much.

Jill frowned as she watched Kathleen bundle up, sort of kicking herself for not preparing accordingly. The best the agent could do was tuck her ponytail down underneath the back of her shirt, but she knew that would do little to protect her from that wind. The prospect of flying in a helicopter, able to peer out the side, didn't really bother the agent, even though she'd never been particularly fond of being airborne. Apparently, her curiosity and determination to find out what happened superseded anything else.

"Are they dangerous?" Jill asked.

“The ones they have at biosciences are not,” she said before opening the door. Kathleen did not deal directly with the mutants that they kept at Argonne. Those were the domain of the bio-scientist at the national laboratory about 25 miles outside of Chicago. The large research complex was one of two national laboratories in the Chicago area that brought together the brightest and talented scientists and engineers in their fields.

The National Laboratories were set up after World War II and were part of the legacy of the Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bomb. Argonne was the first of these research centers chartered by the U. S. Department of Energy – Office of Science in 1946, and continued to be the forefront of scientific and technological advancement in multiple disciples.

After her last paranormal experience, Kathleen had started to begin to do her own private research in the significance of the events linked to the Lincoln Park event. She started to make some connections in the medical research she did for the Army and other research projects conducted by other agencies. Lots of research projects linked to Lincoln Park were being conducted, and most of it was compartmentalized.

The other day one of her colleagues mentioned the other research complex outside Chicago, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He wondered if there was a link to any of the high-energy physics experiments they conducted there and the whispered theory that a dimensional portal had opened up in Lincoln Park. She had her own theories that she kept to herself.

“I think you will be impressed what goes on over at Argonne Labs. They have a super computer over there mapping out the genome of the mutants. Who knows, it might lead to some biomedical discoveries in the future.” She said casually before she noticed Jill was not as prepared as she was for the cold. “I can get someone to get you a field jacket and gloves, if you want."

"That'd be great," the agent replied sheepishly.

Kathleen was right; the genome-mapping sounded as if it had mass potential. Though those already mutated couldn't have their conditions reversed -- one of the few things the file on Community Area 7 was specific on -- if they could learn enough to hopefully prevent a recurrence, or even find a cure for something like Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, then the effort was well worth it. Maybe some good could come out of the Lincoln Park tragedy after all.

"Maybe if we see exactly how these people were mutated, that might help determine where the energy originated from?" Jill theorized, admittedly over her head when it came to science talk. Biology and chemistry had been her worst subjects in school, though she was adequate when it came to physics. She never needed any of that at Wolfram & Hart, though; that was what the Science Department had been for.

Kathleen nodded in agreement about the benefits that might come of the terrible tragedy. It was sad to say, but advancements in technology and scientific knowledge did tend to come out of tragic events, such as war and natural disasters. It was probably one of the reasons she volunteered for the specialized training at Fort Detrick after the historic confirmation of the paranormal.

While they were still inside the warmth of the hospital in the empty corridor leading to the side exit, Kathleen thought to ask the agent a question, since Jill brought up the subject of the energy force that changed its victims. “In the files you read, did any of them mention any experiments at the Accelerator Laboratory? You know, experiments to unlock nature’s deepest secrets, and to learn how the universe is made and how it works? At least that’s how they describe it on their website.” She could not help but smirk, because in the past when a new particle accelerator came online, there were predications that the scientists would cause a black hole to form and cause the end of the world.

Jill shook her head. "I'd never heard of it until just now," she admitted. "The FBI files deal less with the experiments on the mutants and more on what's on the other side of the wall and what caused the massive event in the first place."

If the agent had to guess, she figured the FBI -- and probably the CIA, too -- was leaving the mutant experimentation to the doctors and certain arms of the military, both because it was practical and one less thing the bureau had to do. Jill was interested in the experiments on a personal level, both so she could understand just how the people were mutated and what would become of them from here on out. If even one person was saved from life-altering mutation in the future, then the work of the military and the federal government won't have been in vain.

"It's like cause and effect," the agent mused. "The FBI's looking at the cause, the doctors are looking at the effect."

“Yeah,” she agreed, and then placed her hand on the door handle. “We don’t care how, for example, a biological agent was delivered, but what the effect would be and how to treat for it.” She pushed the door open and the sudden rush of air chilled her exposed face.

“The first cold days are the worst,” she commented, “and winter has only started. Yikes.” Kathleen stepped out first onto the short ramp that would take them to the side street where a desert beige armored hum-vee and black SUV waited.

"Everyone has their role," Jill said with a hint of a smile as she followed the doctor out, glad her business suit's material was thick enough to at least ward off some of the chill. She put on a black felt trenchcoat to take care of the rest, stuffing her hands into her pockets as they walked. What she said about roles was true, and as they approached the awaiting vehicles, Jill was glad to finally find hers.

Which was why she found it odd that, at this very moment, she wondered to herself: what would David Gregor think of her now? Would be proud of her initiative and drive, and the work she was doing, or would he be upset with her for leaving -- even betraying Wolfram & Hart. If it was the latter, then Gregor didn't know as much about that law firm as he liked to think. People had betrayal for breakfast in that place, often with a side of viscera.

Shaking off those thoughts, Jill glanced at her surroundings once more. "I like the cold," she said. "Reminds me of home."

The shock of the initial cold blast wore off by the time Kathleen reached the black SUV with the government license plate. “Me too, up to a point,” she replied. “My parents back in Helena told me last night they got over a foot of snow the other day, and a lot more up in the mountains.”

She watched as the front passenger door opened and a tall soldier wearing a single black bar of a First Lieutenant in the center of his chest. He stepped out to greet her with a salute. “Good afternoon, Ma’am.” She reacted immediately with a quick salute and her characteristic smile.

“Hey, Lieutenant,” she greeted him. Kathleen did not possession a strict military demeanor as she should as an officer. “This is Special Agent Andersen of the FBI.” She paused for a beat. “Hey, do you have an extra field jacket or pair of gloves in there?” She pointed to the SUV.

Jill saluted the lieutenant, though the motion was a bit awkward out of uncertainty. The agent didn't know if she was supposed to salute military officers or not; sure, she wasn't in the military herself, but as a Special Agent at the FBI, there were occasions in which Jill worked and associated with those who were. She decided to salute on a just-in-case hunch, figuring she was better saluting when not necessary than not when she should.

If nothing else, she was showing the proper respect.

"Nice to meet you," the agent offered following her salute. She felt sheepish for not having brought a coat of her own aside from the one, but in the mental frenzy of trying to digest all the intel in the Lincoln Park file, she must've forgotten some of the details of being out and about -- and even airborne -- in the Chicago December air. In staring at the big picture, Jill lost sight of the details along the way.

“Likewise, Agent,” he replied, ignoring her salute as he took a few steps to the side. He then reached for the radio mic attached to his vest and spoke into it while looking at the hum-vee “Gonzales,” after a pause the soldier in the in the hum-vee acknowledged. “Look in my bag, I got an extra Gore-Tex in there. Bring that over to me.”

He looked at the FBI agent. “My jacket should keep you warm, ma’am. It will be here shortly.” He then opened the back door for both of the women. “We’ll be leaving soon, Captain, if that is alright?”

Kathleen gave the infantry officer a nod, and gestured with her hand for Jill to enter the vehicle first. The lieutenant would take them on a tour of the perimeter, and one of the control centers. Afterwards, a UH-60 Blackhawk will take them on an aerial tour and then take them to the national laboratory.

"Thank you," the agent replied with a smile, climbing into the vehicle.