The Sad Tale of Morgan and Her Brother Art

[E-mail transcript follows]:

To: morgan.campos@[REDACTED]
From: art_campos86@[REDACTED]
Subject: You Never Call

Hey Sis,

It's been a few months since you called. Not even an e-mail. The last we heard, you were transferred to Phoenix after an IA review. You even missed calling on little Artie's birthday. We did get your card, but it was a week late.

Seriously, what happened? In 20 years IA never reviewed you. Did a guy finally melt the ice queen's heart? Did you get caught with your pants down? Seriously, was it Bill? Were you two playing hanky-panky when he got hit? You shouldn't blame yourself. I know you wouldn't get caught embezzling. Pretty sure you wouldn't get caught with drugs. If it had been some kind of use of force problem, pretty sure I would have seen a cell phone video of it on the Internet! LOL.

We all miss you. Artie wants to hear from his favorite aunt. Why don't you give a call on Thanksgiving?

Your brother,

Art

To: art_campos86@[REDACTED]
From: morgan.campos@[REDACTED]
Subject: Re: You Never Call

Art,

Bill was my partner for years. You didn't see the look on his kid's face when they put him in the ground. He was my friend, Art. So don't you dare say anything like that about him. You got it, little brother?

Sorry about the card being late. Between the move and everything else, it got lost in the shuffle. I'm glad it got there okay. Hopefully Artie liked it. I know how much he likes dinosaurs.I still have that picture you and Regina took of him as a T-Rex on Halloween. He's a good kid.

I'll try my best to call, but no promises. Work's been insane lately; the brass have me babysitting some pilot. Can't really go into more detail than that. You know how it is; gotta keep the witness's identity protected, even from family and friends. If I can't call, tell Artie that Auntie Morgan hopes he eats a slice of pie for her, too.

And Art... if you get the chance, call Dad. It can't be easy for him to be away from us at this time of year. God knows it's been hard on me, too.

Thinking of you,

Morgan

(Thanks to Kyla Cox for writing half this post!)

What is a lipovore?

[Begin e-mail transcript]

Vogel: So the lipvore is active again?

Mr. White: Don't be naive, Vogel. The team that took one out in the '95 put one-hundred seventy-two fifty cal rounds in the first one, then set it on fire. And that was before tying the husk of the remains to an iron ball and dumping it into the Pacific.

Vogel: You're saying this is a different one?

Mr. White: The odds are good. (Audible sigh). At least tell me we have access to a copy of the book it was carrying.

Vogel: There is an incomplete copy at Miskatonic. The Armitage people are putting up some resistance, but Dr. Schell explained the situation in a series of e-mails.

Mr. White: Good. Those colossal pricks annoy me. (Pause) So what do you think of Mr. Sanchez and Agent Campos.

Vogel: I think they're sitting on too much information. And I am a bit disturbed that their first impulse with the lipovore was to go in guns blazing.

Mr. White: Quite courageous in my opinion. They'll just need bigger guns.

Vogel: Quite so. But Sanchez seems to know something about those artifact prospectors the lipovore was working for.

Mr. White: Campos has been funneling an awful lot of cash through civil asset forfeiture. We know Sanchez's history. It seems to reason the artifact dealing was part of money laundering.

Vogel: But what did the lipovore want with it?

Mr. White: That's the real question. And what exactly do you mean by too much information?

Vogel: We know Campos destroyed most of Baughman's...souvenirs. I've gone through a list of Agent...Sackhoff's, I guess--there's too many aliases to dig through--ops lists and property he reported as lost, stolen, or destroyed. Agent Eli has been monitoring them, and there's no evidence that they've destroyed any of what they'd have access to.

Mr. White: Let them look. In all the after action reports I've read, it's rarely too much information that does agents in.

Vogel: Just so.

Mr. White: Have you been looking at the books, Vogel? I think it's time for a visit to the Dutchman. And a team with a hotshot pilot is just the thing.

Vogel: I'll put in the requests through official channels now, sir. Are you sure it's safe?

Mr. White: I know it's not. Why do you think I make grenades and a flamethrower part of the kit?

The Sad Tale of Clyde Baughman

[Begin e-mail transcript]

Vogel: She pulled it off in a little under 30 hours and independently. I'd say you've chosen a resourceful woman.

Mr. White: Of course I have. She did it cleanly, too. And she's been back in touch with her brother after a long silence. I think it was good for her.

Vogel: As ever you are the model of human compassion.

Mr. White: I prefer mentally stable assets, Vogel. So what were the results of Eli's sweep of the site?

Vogel: Burned debris in the septic tank. Remains of paper, magnetic recording media, and cloth. Human footprints heading north and west before disappearing near a rocky canyon. Extrapolation of trajectory: it's heading to Vegas.

Mr. White: Send a warning to that cell, if they even bother to listen. So what Eli saw on the satellite surveillance is correct: she took the glass sphere.

Vogel: It must be. Surveillance of her apartment confirmed an unusual magnetic field there. Then she purchased something from a curiosity shop, cash. A follow-up interview with the owner is that it was lead-lined box.

Mr. White: Good. She knows how to keep a secret. Anything else you can tell me about those things?

Vogel: Only from the original mission report in 1966. Evidence of extraterrestrial activity in the Copper Queen mine. A team was sent for a standard Opera session. Report is that they located 101 of those spheres. When Delta Green reformed, only 73 were accounted for in the Green Box.

Mr. White: Now we have 74. What sorts of extraterrestrials.

Vogel: The Kuiper belt inhabitants, sir.

Mr. White: What could they want under those mountains?

Vogel: We'll step up geological surveying. Anything else?

Mr. White: Yes. Make sure Campos and Sanchez meet. We'll need have them visit the Superstitions soon.

Vogel: Are you sure we want to risk them just to pad the accounts?

Mr. White: No. But I also want to see exactly what they're capable of.

Recruiting Phillip Sanchez

E-mail transcript follows:

This one is complicated, but it shows you how Mr. White thinks.

Transcript of interrogation of suspect Phillip Sanchez Date: [REDACTED]

Interrogator: Thank you for the cooperation, Mr. Sanchez. We'll see what we can do about getting you into witness protection.

Sanchez: You're welcome. Say, what was up with that thing that shot we down? I didn't know they tested new craft out of Davis-Monthan now.

Interrogator: What are you talking about? A rogue lightning strike hit that plywood glider of yours and brought you down.

Sanchez: It wasn't a lightning strike. The night was clear. After about an hour, I saw this cloud of moving, multi-colored lights. I couldn't quite make out what they were, but the lights moved independently of each other and kept shifting colors. It was almost pretty, but way too creepy.

Interrogator: You just saw surface lights refracting off the radar balloon, Mr. Sanchez.

Sanchez: I was flying without instruments, but I've memorized that balloon's pattern. It was about ten miles east of where I was. I got within about fifty yards of that cloud of lights. I could hear it making a buzzing noise even over the wind. For a minute it looked like it was trying to maneuver away from me, but couldn't quite manage it. I was trying to maneuver away, but the wind was restricting my movements in the glider.

Interrogator: Buzzing noise?

Sanchez: Yeah. Like bees or mosquitoes or something else altogether. Then, as I was getting closer, the cloud shot me with a--I think it was a gun--some kind of weapon that projected a bolt of lightning. In the light I kind of made out the cloud a little better. They looked like giant shrimps with wings, and the glowing bits were the heads.

Interrogator: I--what are you talking about?

Sanchez: It looked like most them were carrying crates or canisters or something. Wait, were they aliens? Do you have aliens patrolling the Whetstones now? So X-files, but kind of cool, too.

Interrogator: You hallucinated all that due to the trauma of the crash, Mr. Sanchez. I'll make sure we get you in to see a therapist.

Copy of Intercepted E-mail Correspondence:

From: mr_white@deltagreen.gov
To: emcknight123@deltagreen.gov

Thank you for the information, Doctor. If what you said of your evaluation of Mr. Phillip Sanchez is true, he'll make an excellent asset. He survived a very close encounter with those extra-terrestrials we believe to inhabit the Kuiper Belt. Further, if what he said is true, they are active much further afield then our initial intelligence suggested.
Forward me the rest of his file. My assistant is already pulling strings at the U.S. Marshals to get him assigned to another recently acquired asset as his "handler" while he is in witness protection.

Recruiting Morgan Campos

E-mail transcript follows:

The following is a transcript of a recorded conversation prior to the beginning of Operation Rising Phoenix. I am familiar with both speakers

Vogel: Are you sure recruiting the woman is wise, Mr. White.

Mr. White: Of course. She managed to face down one of those things from Innsmouth without flinching.

Vogel: May I draw your attention to the drone footage? She missing it at point blank range.

Mr. White: No one is perfect. But I assume you've read her file. Forty years old and no social media presence or romantic interests. She's dedicated her life to the service.

Vogel: Are you sure that's wise? Analysis of previous agent performance shows those personal connections help agents keep their head under fire.

Mr. White: I'm familiar. But may I also remind you that romantic connections are the number one cause of security breaches. Besides, she doesn't trust me. She already knows the score.

Vogel: Are you saying you prefer agents under your command not trust you?

Mr. White: Do you trust me?

Vogel: Honestly, sir? No.

Mr. White: Have all the arrangements been made?

Vogel: Of course. There was sufficient evidence to show that she was acting in self-defense, so the death of the civilians won't require any official citations. But we made sure the ritual space and the nature of the...thing... were in her report. So her superiors are recommending a change of scenery and re-assigning her to support ICE and DEA in southern Arizona.

Mr. White: I do love Reagan and his "War on Drugs." Planting schedule Is on a site gives us such a great cover story for when an operation goes bloody.

Vogel: As you say sir.

Mr. White: Begin locating the next candidate.

Vogel: Absolutely, sir.

Operation Rising Phoenix

This information has been sent to me via encrypted e-mails, the sender has given me one request: "release this to the public, so it never happens again."

I'm not sure what it all means, but I've been having trouble sleeping. Because all I can think in the dark and quiet, alone with my thoughts is: "Is this real? All of it? If so, no deity can help us."