Take Me Back to Eden Ch. 02

This chapter is the additional setup chapter that is needed in order to establish the fundamental parts of the story. I highly recommend that you read the first chapter as well, but it is not necessary in order to understand this one. From this point on, the series will slowly become more heated, but I want to establish that at a pace and timing that makes sense. So sorry in advance to everyone that hates a slow burn.

Please feel free to leave comments below once you've read this chapter. I think feedback is really important and there's always something to be learned from a different perspective.

For thousands of years, Humans and Beings had lived alongside one another without ever knowing it. The Barrier, an invisible field of energy that kept their two worlds separate, wasn't discovered until 2038. It took nine years for both peoples to study and understand it well enough to traverse it. Then, inexplicably, on the same day at the exact same time, on March 20, 2047, both sent their own team of explorers though the barrier and into the unknown world.

Both were surprised to find a whole civilization waiting for them once they emerged. The initial exchanges were... awkward. The team of beings had, unfortunately, stepped out of the barrier and into kitchen of an elderly Hispanic woman. Who, once she recovered from her shock, became angry and proceeded to beat them with her slipper while cursing at them fluently in Spanish.

The human team fared little better, having stepped out of the barrier right in the middle of a rather large library that was, to their misfortune, very much in use. A small bipedal animal with a coat not that dissimilar to that of a racoon had let out a piercing shriek as the confused humans tried to raise their hand placatingly, which only scared the assembled crowd more and sent them running.

As first contact scenarios went, it wasn't great, but in the preceding days, both sides managed to navigate it without bloodshed. Funnily enough for the humans, the expected language barrier turned out to not be a problem as all. Their first exposure to magic came from a spell of transcommunication, which was cast on them by a quickly selected diplomat. From there, it was easy enough to proceed with introductions.

What developed over the following year was the slow build up relations and the sharing of knowledge. While neither side had wanted to assume that they would be dealing with a primitive civilization, both were shocked to find that their paths of technological evolution had run very similarly. There were a couple of major differences, such as types of fuel and methods of transportation, or manners of global communication, but most things ran along similar lines to what each already knew. It quickly became apparent to everyone that they had much to gain by cooperating. Magic and science fit together like pieces to a puzzle and both sides were eager to see what they could accomplish.

As beings and humans began to spend more time in contact with one another, limited mostly to diplomatic channels, certain mysteries about their respective worlds slowly began to unravel. The many myths and legends that lay in both of their histories soon became more fact that fiction. During this time, they also learned how to pass through the barrier more precisely, ensuring that they could enter and exit in specific locations.

As the human year neared its end, both parties met to discuss the implementation of a program that would slowly begin to foster mutual relations among the rest of their populations, outside of specific diplomatic channels. The idea that their two peoples could begin to live and work together was intriguing, and had already been gaining widespread interest. They all agreed that everything would need to be carefully regulated and that participants would need to be vetted. But after much discussion, and a lot of paperwork, the Species Integration Program was born.

It didn't take long for it to take off and it quickly grew in size. The home-stay system, whereby applicants could apply to either house or visit the opposite species, and in time gain the right to live there, became wildly popular. In a few short years, the site of humans and beings in opposite worlds went from being an incredibly rare sight to being comfortably uncommon. And though there was still a long way to go, the program was regarded as a resounding success.

But as with anything, where there is good the bad will follow. Out of necessity, an inter-barrier investigation and enforcement group, called the Transfer Protection Agency or TPA, was founded to combat a new wave of crime. While both governments worked tirelessly to control access to the barrier, it simply was not possible to catch everyone who wanted to sneak through. The result; the emergence of barrier gangs who sole goal was to kidnap beings or humans and hold them for ransom.

Sneaking through the barrier at random points was a risky business, since one would never know where they might end up, but it was a risk the gangs were willing to take. Their viciousness and tenacity rapidly became a problem for the fledgling TPA, who struggled in the initial months to become effective at stopping the new form of crime. They learned quickly though and armed with a blanket authorization from both governments to use whatever force necessary to recover kidnapping victims or investigate barrier crimes, they became a force to be feared.

It wasn't long before a high priority target list was established, mostly comprised of criminal elements that had been problematic before the discovery of the barrier. They had simply shifted their focus to something that promised to be more lucrative. Highest on that list were two names, one human and one being.

Dricus Aubert, a French mercenary turned high stakes kidnapper, had been the dark horse weapons supplier for most of the wars on earth for the last twenty years. He was a wanted mass murder, arsonist and drugs trafficker. Anyone who was anyone knew who he was, but his network of spies, saboteurs, and assassins made it difficult to get close to him. Dricus had a penchant for recruiting unassuming henchmen, the kinds of people you would never suspect could kill. So, when the chance came to make unbelievable money kidnapping humans and beings both for various clients, it was a no-brainer transition for the Frenchman.

Rasaq the Arachnid, the only name the beings had for him, was also at the top of the list. Bloodthirsty didn't even come close to being an accurate description. In the early days of the TPA, he had been solely responsible for more than fifty percent of their losses. He worked entirely alone and was never afraid to kill his unwitting victim if he thought a deal was about to go sour. Tracking him was next to impossible due to his skill in illusion magic and he never left witnesses alive.

It was the pursuit of Dricus that led the TPA to the Michael's doorstep. Their analysts, combing through endless amounts of field tips, searching for anything that might give them a clue to Dricus's whereabouts, hit upon a subject profile, along with a massive data file, uploaded by one of their field agents. A quick search led them to an unassuming human named Michael Esposito, 24 years old, tall build, brown hair and glasses, working as a data entry clerk for a small company in Montana. He had no known aliases, no known criminal background, and a record so clean it was almost suspicious.

A dive into the unencrypted parts of the file showed text communications between several unidentifiable numbers and Michael's phone. The evidence was beyond damning. The texts showed the methodical planning and execution of every kidnapping, murder and assassination that Dricus and his gang had committed in the last two years. But frustratingly, it lacked specific details about where high-level members were located or how to find them, or when the next kidnapping might happen. Information that could be contained in encrypted data, but would take time to decrypt.

As it was though, the TPA had more than enough to get the green light on a retrieve and interrogate operation. Within a few short days, a retrieval team, comprised of both beings and humans, was put together and on route to Michael's address. In no time at all the TPA's analysts gained access to everything that Michael had and learned everything there was to know about him. It had been surprisingly easy to hack into his accounts, as though he wasn't expecting anyone to come looking for him.

Tiriana Sylastra, the elf Chief of Station for the Helena, Montana TPA headquarters, stood in a half empty conference room leaning on an empty black rolling chair as she watched the drone feed of her team enroute to the targets house. Joining her were her two best analysts, an attaché from the Whitehouse, one of the U.S based being representatives, and her tactical advisor. The tension in the warmly lit room was palpable, this was the best lead they'd had in months and they could ill afford to let it slip through their fingers.

As she monitored her team, she fought to shake her usual feelings of doubt about the operation. This happened every time she sent agents out into the field; what if the lead they had was wrong? Was she sending them into a trap? Was there something that would tip off their target that they were coming? But years of operational success and discipline from her training helped quell those fears. She trusted her men to get the job done on the ground and she trusted that the information that they were acting on had been rigorously vetted and was accurate. There was simply nothing else she could do.

"Target in site."

The team leader, a large canid named Kodai with notable scars all across his muzzle, whispered through the speakers of the tv. Tiriana watched closely as a small navy colored car pulled into a paved driveway.

"Execute."

The team van shot out from it's hiding place and skidded into the driveway. Not even waiting for the vehicle to come to a complete stop, the van doors flew open and Kodai, sprinting with impossible speed, was onto the human before he could even turn his head to react. Within seconds he was bound, hooded, and sedate on the floor of the vane.

"Mark secured, on route to rendezvous."

Everyone assembled in the room let out a collective sigh of relief, a successful mission executed to perfection. Now all that remained was for the team on the ground to start their processing procedure. She knew what awaited the human and didn't envy him, though she supposed that anyone who deigned to work with a monster like Dricus perhaps wasn't so undeserving of their fate.

She walked around her analysts and patted them both on the shoulders. "Great job on finding this one. This might be just the break we need. Hopefully he has something worthwhile for us."

"I certainly hope so," Sarah Walker, the attaché, chimed in. "A lot of folks on capital hill are itching for this whole hunt to be over. Could really use the good news."

Tiriana rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know your government is eager for results. But things like this are not always quick. It may take some time before we can get something actionable."

Sarah raised her hands to her sides in a sort of surrender. "I know, believe me I do. But I've got bosses and they've got bosses. Just make sure you come away with something on this one okay?"

The elf huffed quietly through her nose in response. Humans, particularly American humans, were always wrapped up in their political games, constantly vying to make themselves look better than their opponents. The hunt for the barrier kidnappers had been slowly turned into a ball for them to throw back and forth at each other and the game had gotten old quickly. Still, she couldn't deny that they had been...coming up short handed as of late. It was important for the TPA to get results.

She looked back up at the monitor one last time to see her team breaking the speed limit as they rushed to get back to safe house and begin their work. Yes, she told herself, this would be the lead that would bring them Dricus and finally put an end to this kidnapping nonsense. The human could not possibly hope to hold out against some of their best agents. He would give them want they wanted.

-----------------------------------------------Two Weeks Later-------------------------------------------------

Tiriana sat in the kitchen of the small, two-bedroom house that served as a stash house and offsite interrogation facility, rubbing her temples in small circles in an attempt to relieve her headache. That they had been working on the human for this long and had nothing to show for it beggared belief. The fact that Michael had been able to hold onto his secrets for this long might have been impressive if it weren't so infuriating. All they had been able to get out of him were the same three words, "I don't know."

In her experience, only two kinds of people could hold on this long. The most loyal, hardened and experienced of criminals who were specifically trained to resist interrogation, and could only be broken by the most extreme methods. Or, those that had more to lose by divulging information than they did by dying to protect it. And at this point, she was starting to have doubts over which one Michael was.

Her analysts had started working on trying to decrypt the message data between Michael and the unknown numbers, but it was slow, painstaking work. In the meantime, they continued to search for other leads, but had thus far been unsuccessful. What was worse, she was under even more pressure from the human government to either get something from Michael, or cut him loose.

The elf turned her head as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and saw Kodai wiping off his hands with a bloody rag. She stared at him silently, asking the question with her eyes. The canid grimaced and tilted his head. Tiriana's head dropped and she rubbed her brow in frustration.

"I just don't get it," she said as the anthro took a seat opposite her, "he doesn't strike me as a hardline guy, from everything that we know about him. How is he able to hold on like this?"

"I'm not sure," Kodai murmured. "I've worked on a lot of beings with stronger constitution than humans have and they've spilled far sooner." He reached down into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it with a small purple lighter. Taking a long pull, he held the smoke in his muzzle for a moment before blowing it up towards the ceiling.

"Ma'am, can I be honest with you?" he asked, tuning to look at her. The elf nodded, gesturing for him to continue.

"It's my professional opinion that this guy doesn't know anything. If he did, he would have given it up already." He turned his head sharply to the side, attempting to crack his neck and relieve the pressure. "I've used just about every method that I've got to get this guy to crack, and he just keeps saying the same thing over and over again. At this point, I don't have much left unless we move to magic or start lopping things off."

Tiriana shook her head and replied, "I understand, but the intel that we have on this one is solid. From what we have it's clear that there's a connection, but we're still working to break into the encrypted data."

"Has there been any update on that?" Kodai asked.

"I haven't gotten any updates but, the last time I checked was early morning yesterday," the elf said as she reached down and pulled out her phone. As human made devices came, it was rather handy, much easier for quick communication needs, although she would always prefer the natural feel and sound of magical communication. She typed in the passcode and quickly hit the number for her lead analyst back at the base and after a few rings it connected.

"Yea boss?"

"Dawson, what the status on breaking the encryption on the message files?"

"Not long now," he answered, "the program is going through the last group of files. Once it's complete, we'll be able to see everything these guys were talking about.

"Good, that's good to hea-"

"Boss there something you should know though," Dawson interrupted.

"What?" she asked, a jolt of worry shooting through her body at his tone. He never interrupted her for any reason, so for him to do so now meant that whatever it was, it was serious.

"Walker is on her way to your location. I was actually just about to call you to let you know. She came here looking for you and we had to tell her that you were out in the field. She'll likely be there in a few minutes"

That was bad news. If the human attaché was on her way to the stash house, that could only mean that she was coming to pull the plug on the operation. That meant that she and her team had little time in which to get information out of the human or the lead would be lost forever.

"Thank you for the heads up. Keep cracking away at those files, we need to know what's in them. They might give us something that we can use to get this guy to talk. Call me as soon as you have something."

"Will do," he replied, "Good luck boss, Dawson out."

Tiriana laid her phone on the table and looked back at Kodai, who had just finished smoking another cigarette. She worried at her lip as she tried to think quickly about their options. Time wasn't on their side and they needed to act quickly. "Walker is on her way here. We don't have much time and we need to get something from this. What else do you have left that you haven't used?"

Kodai sighed and sat there for a long moment before he stood up, walked to the fridge and pulled out a large container of water. Reaching into the cupboard above, he retrieved a medium sized white towel that looked like it had seen better days. "I learned this one fairly recently from a human agent I worked with on one of my last assignments. It's called water boarding; do you know how it works?"

The elf nodded her head. It was one of many human interrogation techniques that she and other beings had been familiarized once they had joined the TPA. Like most things human, it was crude, brutal, and incredibly effective. It had limited usefulness against some types of beings, but for humans, it usually worked like a charm.

"Do you want to come down and help, or do you want me to take care of it?" the canid asked. "There's no shame in it if you want to stay up here."

Tiriana thought about it for a moment, weighing the decision in her head. In all of her time at the TPA, she had never actually physically interrogated a prisoner. Often, she had been in the room, asking them questions, working them over psychologically to try and garner information and find inconsistencies in their answers, but always with a subject that had already been broken down, who had something to give, and never alone. The thought of doing it herself though...she knew that it was cowardly, but even pressed for time, she couldn't bring herself to do it. It just wasn't something she was built for.

Tiriana shook her head and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. "I know that I should be willing to do it. I signed the order to bring him in, but I don't think I'd be very useful." She looked him in the eyes and gave him a rueful grin, "Besides, isn't that what I have you for?"

Kodai chuckled in spite of himself and gave her a half grin, "Yeah, I guess you cushy office types can't handle come real hard work," he said jokingly. It earned him a raised eyebrow, though the elf smiled back as she nodded her head towards the stairs.

"Get going agent, before the human government wrecking ball arrives to smash our operation."

The canid gave a casual two finger salute from his brow as he walked out of the kitchen, taking the stairs down to the basement. The door slammed shut as a new set of footsteps, these much lighter and quieter, came up the stairs. Phrixiphis, or Phrix as they called her, was a small, lithe female lizard that served as the group medic. Save gave the elf a polite salute before walking over to the living room and laying down on the couch.