Cortex: Prelude: Special Agent Jack Slender

[FreakyBoy]

Agent Slender hit pause, and the recording froze. A shadow floated on the freeze-frame; an inventive individual might describe the shadow as a ghost.

"I know what I saw," the woman proclaimed again, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. The briefing room was spartan; two chairs, a table, and - for this interview - a cart with a screen and a video player. Other than that, the room was white and bare. Agent Slender, of course, knew that one of the walls only appeared opaque from this side, and on the other, a supervisor surely watched his technique.

The reporter had followed his team as they eliminated a haunting downtown. Somehow, she had evaded noticed until after the hallucination had been excised, and caught their activity on tape. Agent Slender was trying to convince her she hadn't seen what she insists she did: "That was a ghost. I saw it with my own eyes, and it's caught right here on camera!"

But of course, ghosts don't exist. As far as the public is concerned, anyway.

[Stan Cold]

Agent Slender gives the woman a professional smile. "Ma'am, I'm quite envious of your impressive imagination. I could look at that frame all day and still only see a smudge on the camera lens, or a trick of the shading."

[FreakyBoy]

The reporter shakes her head. "I don't know what your game is, Agent Slender, but that 'smudge' floated right through a wall in front of my face. Are you trying to cover something up?"

[Stan Cold]

"Cover what up? That you followed us into a drugs bust and just happened to breathe a little too deeply? The only person I'm helping here is you. Let's say this video goes public. A very small group of weirdos are going to believe that you recorded some sort of specter in this tape, while the rest of the masses, also known as normal people, are going to see a blurry video with a cloud of dust floating around. Your credibility will be shot, you'll be out of work, and your friends and family will probably have you committed." Agent Slender leans back in his chair with a smile that's a little more smug, "That is, unless your friends and family are crazy cat women who listen to late night AM radio. Like I said, ma'am, I'm only here to help."

[FreakyBoy]

She stares at Agent Slender for a long time, her teeth clenched. If looks could kill - well, let's be honest here; if looks could kill, Agent Slender would be locked in a room with no windows to prevent the Apocalypse.

Anyway, after a long, drawn out, near-eternity of staring, her will finally breaks. The reporter sighs, her shoulders slump. "And just what is the cost of your 'help', Agent?"

[Stan Cold]

"All copies of the video, please," Agent Slender answers politely, "and your silence on this whole matter. No need to make a huge fuss over a video and a drugs bust. More then fair, ma'am, if you ask me. Requires almost zero effort on your end."

[FreakyBoy]

"You have the only copy, Agent," the reporter replies, regaining some of her fire. "You grabbed me so fast, I didn't even have a chance to rewind."

[Stan Cold]

"Well, isn't that convenient?" Agent Slender goes over to the video player, hits eject, and smashes the copy under his foot. When he's sure the video is properly destroyed, he says, "Thank you for your time, ma'am."

[FreakyBoy]

"So what am I supposed to tell my editor?" the reporter asks. "'Sorry I don't have a story, some buy in a black suit stomped on my tape?'"

[Stan Cold]

Slender was prepared for that. He picks up a manilla envelope from the table. "Give him this. It's about a meteor that's predicted to collide into Earth and how the brave men and women of Cortex are going to blow it up with a laser. Sources and references are provided and will pass any checks."

[FreakyBoy]

The reporter doesn't even touch the envelope. "Blow it up with a laser?" she scoffs. "Even I know that's crazy."

[Stan Cold]

"Says the woman who sees ghost. Fine, don't give it to your editor. Tell him a dog ate it for all I care." Agent Slender walks over to the door. "Take the envelope or don't. Either way, I thank you for your cooperation and I'll be happy to show you out."

[FreakyBoy]

The reporter rises, and her voice changes. "Jack, you aren't seriously considering letting a civilian go like this, are you?" The simulation's façade fades, and the reporter is replaced by the Supervisor, while the rest of the room fades to white - just the table and chairs remain, stark white and barely visible within the overwhelming whiteness of Room 101.

"You're letting a reporter go, without a plausible cover story, and with a legitimate grudge against Cortex. How could that possibly be good for us, or the people?"

[Stan Cold]

"Of course not!" Agent Slender pulls out his pistol, "I was gonna lead her to the broom closet and BANG! Another reporter lost in the line of duty." He lets out a heavy sigh. "But I probably should've pushed the meteor story more and made sure she received generous benefits from the friendly folks at Cortex. Dammit, I'm not on my A-game today, sir."

[FreakyBoy]

The Supervisor pinches the bridge of her nose under her glasses. "Jack ... even if we were government agents - which we aren't - we can't just go around killing witnesses just because they saw something." She sighs. "I like you Jack - I really do - but sometimes you're just as dumb as a bag of bricks. Where'd you even come up with that meteor story?"