Episode 3

S3E3 - Non-Zero Possibility - Southern Cross - Delta Green AP Podcast

Published on: 1st September, 2026

Something is waiting in the blasted sands on the US-Mexico border. Depravity sleeps while Delta Green agents meddle.

Introduction from Nathan and Lex from RPG Reanimators.

Theme song by Chris Hamje.

Vocals by Kimmy from Black Flare.

Produced and written by Nick Sayers.

Cast

Jimmy from Hand on the Door

Ryan

Jordan

Patrick

Nick Sayers

Additional Cast

Bill

Charlie from the Null Project.

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/576NbWAEm1uOBDxlW1F4Os?si=c7228e49ddb94035

Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dead-letter-bureau-delta-green/id1826992923

Find us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@deadletterbureau

Find transcripts: https://dead-letter-bureau.captivate.fm/

Talk to us on Discord: https://discord.gg/2RFYaWHm33

Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this podcast are ©Nick Sayers, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.

Transcript
Speaker:

What do we got?

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that Jerome stuff you wanted me to look at, it's it's all done.

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Same crew as my Oklahoma file, right?

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Same.

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Gave a few of those NRO meatheads a run for their money out there.

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It looks that way.

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They were in a firefight in a hotel, then took off out of the town.

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Oddly enough, the locals dead ended the investigation into an executed bellboy even before

we started looking.

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Local sheriff was tight lipped, even with us.

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Interesting.

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Keeping an eye on the sheriff?

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You bet.

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The guy Finch they were looking for?

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Gone.

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We have echoes of we have echoes of being at a black site in Arizona, but upon

confirmation it looks like he's just gone.

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His website was pulled down from the IP address in the hotel just before engagement.

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Looks like they succeeded there.

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This is why we talk.

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This is Finch in a Toka with Ross's guy, well after the hotel shooting.

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Oh look, it's your old friend.

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Mm, butterfield.

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Yep, real piece of work.

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Well, he'd put together the dumbest group of fuck ups I've seen this side of the

Mississippi.

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Hey, those fuck ups killed some NRO boys, burned acres of swampland, and two of them

disappeared without a trace.

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You think they stumbled through all that and still were able to evade us?

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Uh Ryan Dwyer and Del Sidusky, I mean look at this fucking idiot.

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He took pictures with a group during a ghost tour right before his room was filled with a

dead bellboy and your NRO assholes.

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The other guy, Del, probably was homeschooled out in the woods and failed every psyche

valve he's encountered.

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You think it's four D chess?

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Maybe.

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Sandusky and Dwyer are both gone.

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We're here holding our dicks, wondering where they went.

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Butterfield is in Mexico.

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No, Ross would have figured that out.

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Well, we have the other two at least.

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Sure, the uh mechanic and the girl.

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Think they'll go back out?

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Well, Barone has been flagged by some pencil pusher and RD, so I'm sure some field testing

is in order.

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You know I can't tell you that, just like you can't tell me why the hell Butterfield keeps

evading everyone.

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He's a hot headed Neanderthal, not James Bond.

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watchin' her?

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One of ours, one of theirs?

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or something else?

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A little bit of this and a little bit of that, Bruno.

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Mm.

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Mm.

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Well, with the interloper, the girl the woman she's a common criminal.

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Looks like she successfully blackmailed people before, and there have been some strange

deaths in her wake.

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Most recently her mother.

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You think she killed her own mom?

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Sounds just like Butterfield to get another brute involved.

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Ah, I couldn't care less, but I do know that she is trouble.

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Look at this file.

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After that, bury all of this.

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Every one of these needs to go.

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Which one wants it all buried?

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Hell if I know.

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I just know it needs to go.

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Uh the old damnation of memory.

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For the old greater good.

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Alright, I'm hungry.

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You want a taco?

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Something in the desert sky lost time, and I don't know why it can conspirate.

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Pai.

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Mm

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D

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Caroline and Barone, would you fly in?

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Would you drive in?

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You both got your recorded messages saying to be here at the El Paso airport.

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Well if it's an airport, then plane seems like the uh Occams razor of this situation.

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I think I'd be flying.

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First class if we can help it.

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You can't help it, yeah.

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Barone, what about you?

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Your kid at so

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Yeah, that that was my that was my first thought.

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I think uh Barone will never turn down a chance to get behind the wheel.

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I mean, for for West Virginia on down, I mean, that's one hell of a drive, but at the same

time, it's one hell of a drive.

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Like she gets to drive.

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Um, and she, you know, has that that shotgun and that not suspicious, suspicious rod on

her that she's, you know, not willing to to part with either, especially to jump on a

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plane and

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Her GP one hundred's her best friend, so she tosses her gear, throws it in her truck, and

m makes the several day journey on down.

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Maybe two days.

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You know, she doesn't go straight through, but she also doesn't really dawdle at the same

time.

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Caroline, you've never been to El Paso, I'm guessing.

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You're coming in and the descent drops you below the clouds, more haze than clouds down

here.

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And it's like you're flying into a furnace, and you can see from the plane the border.

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There's some fencing and you see lights as you get closer along the border.

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It's this jagged scar between El Paso and Jorez.

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And

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The heat distortion makes the city look like it's kind of wavy and trembling and there's a

massive slab of concrete and asphalt right in front of you as you land.

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And you know that sun above you is unforgiving.

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Yeah, I think there is a a handkerchief coming out to dab a forehead ever so gently so as

not to smudge the makeup.

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And then there is um a mista that comes out of my clutch and just a spritz every now and

again.

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Keep a woman smelling fresh, feeling fresh too.

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You get to your gate, exit, barone, what are you driving up in?

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She's driving up in her trusty Ford Bronco, man.

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That she uh just changed up some bits and bobbles on it and wants to test it out and make

sure her wrenches hit the right spots at the right torque and make sure nothing's falling

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apart.

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So, you know, she uh brings an up extra a couple bits and her tools along um for the ride

to make sure just in case something does go wrong.

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But it's it's a test drive just as much as anything else.

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Mash, you're rolling into the airport.

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Two around the same time, what are you driving in?

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Yeah, Mash is driving a very practical uh nineteen ninety-five Subaru Outback with his

gear in the back.

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Yeah.

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Again, he he's a simple practical kind of guy.

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And it's like blue, right?

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Oh, of course.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Did you get to the airport parking area?

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There was no other instructions.

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You just wander into the terminal.

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This is before the TSA, there's no security line.

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There is security checkpoints, but they're just kind of haphazard guys standing there

watching people walk by into the airport with their bags.

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And each of you independently hear a dung with the passenger Caroline Velichek, please

report to security checkpoint three.

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Same with Baron.

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Passenger Morgan Barone report to security checkpoint three.

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All different times, right?

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Mash Rainy, report to security checkpoint three.

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And if you don't hurry, it cycles through a few more times.

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I think I absolutely am hurrying you can hear the clack of my shoes uh above everyone

else's um across the tile in those long hallways on a kinda I'm not inclined to advertise

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that I am needed of interest out associate my name with the public any more than I have

to.

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He is yeah, Mash does the same.

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He's got his bag over his shoulder with all of his stuff in it.

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Um and he hears his name, he knows he's here for something but not sure what, and he's

still pretty cautious about all of this, so he makes his way, you know, slowly there, but

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he's looking out for any signs of anything.

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Who is this?

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You know, is this any kind of alphabet agency that he's worked with before, familiar with,

but he makes his way steadily and alertly there.

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Yeah.

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You arrive, um, Barone, you hear yours.

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Any approach that's specific for you?

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No, not necessarily.

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I think um she's just making her way having um heard Caroline's name though.

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I think on the way she looks for um one of those like restock carts, um, grabs like a a

moist towelette off of it um on on her way over to the security.

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Yeah.

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Easily findable.

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You get to the security checkpoint.

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Caroline was there first, sitting there waiting.

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This guard is uninterested as of yet.

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And Caroline, the camera's following Barone and over Car or over Baron's shoulder we see

you.

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What do you what do you look like?

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Yeah.

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Well, in this moment I am uh posted up, um, legs neatly folded, uh in a long flowed skirt.

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it is subtly matching my floral luggage that is obviously newly procured.

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It has uh gentle tan leather um straps and edges.

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It is predominantly white with you know gentle embroidery of blues and yellows and pinks.

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and you know, similar to a fine china set.

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Um her outfit is um echoing the same.

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Her hair is delightfully manicured.

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It is a summer blonde that has been pulled up under a a slight kerchief um to keep it up

and out of her her way as she is gently fanning herself waiting for others approach.

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You see Baron across the terminal walking fast towards you.

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Barone, what does Caroline see as she meets your gaze?

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the slightly uh dirty under the nails, slightly disheveled, um, decidedly tacky with

sweat.

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Uh Morgan Barone with that same thick ponytail over her shoulder.

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And sh man, it's it's sure as heck hard to tell if it's the same clothes that she was or

was not wearing the last time she saw a Caroline, because she's a creature of habit

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sometimes, that's for sure, and has her favorites.

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So who knows?

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Did she even wash them?

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Giant question mark.

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You didn't know each other for long, right?

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But it is it's nice to see a friendly face, right?

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You n you guys know the game.

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You know why you're here, right?

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I mean you don't know why, but you you have an a general idea and yes.

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No, no, go ahead.

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And yeah, it's nice to see her.

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Yeah, no, a absolutely.

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And I think she gets a a small smirk on her face and as Barone approaches Caroline, she

stands up super straight in in her uh a little m mocking stance and pulls out a little

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moistilette and she says, Madame, now that you have landed on our verdant soil, would you

c care for a a moist to let for your your for your buttocks or or your face perhaps to be

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the freshest you can be?

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And she just smiles and holds out the moist toilette for

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Caroline.

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Yeah, I think that d I will daintily grab it from you.

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I will um feign as though I am using it to dab the sweat on my neck, but it is not

touching any part of me as I go to give you an air kiss and I will do do the same like the

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the uh emulation of a hug and embrace like friends but not too close on account of I I

know how you smell before I smelled ya.

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As you guys are having this interaction mash, you see these two women um in a strange like

power play embrace.

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Maybe you don't pick up on that.

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I don't know what your humant is.

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But you walk up to the security checkpoint, see them, and see a uninterested guard.

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Yeah, Mash walks up.

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He's I don't remember sorry, if I gave a physical description before, just insert that

here.

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But I I think he's like tall-ish, maybe five, eleven, six foot.

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Short brown hair, uh, you know, kinda military crew cut almost, like just practical.

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He's wearing like olive green t-shirt, you know, kinda desert brown, you know, outdoor

khaki pants with the or cargo pants.

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He's got his desert boots on, he's got his big olive

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colored uh duffel bag over his shoulder.

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He stands there for a minute and looks around and he looks at these two women and thinks

okay, well I guess I'm supposed to meet someone here, but it's definitely not them.

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And I think I walk over to the security guard and I'm like, hey, um I got called for

something here.

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Is it am I supposed to do you know anything about that?

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Oh yeah.

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oh there's three of you.

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Okay.

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And he points to a door ajar and like an office.

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Okay.

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You approach this guard, mash, and he's like, Oh, there are three of you.

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Okay.

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Um and he points to a door that's ajar.

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Looks like some sort of security office where they would pull somebody aside if they

needed to.

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And um he's like, in there.

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Yeah, Mash looks over his shoulder, looking for the other two people, and then dawning

realization comes over his face, he's like, Oh, okay, I I guess I don't know what I'm here

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for.

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Uh so yeah, I guess this yeah, I'm here for something with people like these.

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And he walks

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Was sorry, was the guard's announcement loud enough for us to hear or was that just a

mash?

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It was loud enough for everybody.

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He like looked down and just kinda said it Yeah.

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Loud

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We'll start I'll s you know, start gathering bags, piling this one on top of that one so

they can all wheel in together.

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Uh I'll invite Morgan to to throw hers on top.

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Um I'll make my way over to, you know, this um upstanding looking gentleman.

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I'll offer my hand, I'll say, Caroline Valichek, pleased to meet you.

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Are you security?

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Uh I'm not quite sure why I'm here.

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Ma'am, Mash Rainey, nice to meet ya, ma'am.

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and I reach out and shake your the dainty end of your hand that you're offering.

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Yeah, I think um like as you extend a a proper handshake, she will meet yours and there is

a you know, uh a delicate nature to her.

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Her skin is perfumed and and soft to the touch, but there is like a a steel backing to it.

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You understand that you are receiving a a hand that means business.

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Yeah, I sense that and I think, hm, I really wanna ask her what's going on, but um I know

enough to know that d standing in the middle of an airport is probably not the place to

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discuss things like this.

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So I just kinda nod and I say, After you, ma'am.

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I will wheel on through that threshold.

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Um at the at the the same time uh you look over and Morgan Barone has a a uh small wave of

consternation coming over over her.

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She figured maybe if she were to ever see Agent Ryan again, this would probably be the

time and the fact that somebody else has has shown up is decidedly unexpected and maybe a

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thought of of terror or uncertainty comes over her her with what may have happened there.

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She tries to not let it show, but in stark contrast to last time she met a bunch of new

people in a situation like this, where she was super huggy and, you know, kind of all

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bubble.

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She's just a a a flat face.

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Um and she sticks out her her slightly oily hand.

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You don't know if it's lotion or car oil, for a handshake for mash.

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Ma'am, nice to meet ya.

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I say as I shake your hand that you you all right?

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You seem a little bit seem like you were having some fun there at your friend's expense,

but now you're uh you wanna go in the room and I I'm still not sure why I'm I'm here, but

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maybe we can figure this all out.

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Yeah, no, I'm yeah, I'm I'm fine.

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Uh thank you.

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Uh Mor Morgan Baron, feel free to to call me Barone and we're uh kind of all in the same

boat here and and not really knowing, but uh I have a feeling we're about to find out.

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She gives you a wink and starts walking through the door.

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Think we are, I muttered to myself, and then walked through the door.

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You enter and there's a small conference room table, just a one page sheet of paper, and

sitting behind it is a woman cross legged with a white button up shirt on, a pants or uh

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slacks on as well.

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Looks hot under all of under that white shirt, is actually fanning herself off a little

bit with her hand and looks tired, bags under her eyes, and when you enter, she stands up

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briefly and

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Says Caroline, Morgan, and Mash.

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Did I get you right?

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Yep.

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Yep.

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Great.

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Please, please have a seat.

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I I'm Agent Freya, and you're invited here for an interesting opera, I w I would think.

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I understand that well you two he she points to the girls.

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You worked with us a little bit before, and you did you work with us, Mash?

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I don't know.

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I met a man in the desert.

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I think he might work with you.

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I have no idea what's happening right now.

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I'm gonna shut up and I'll I'll I'll just let you explain things, ma'am.

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Well I heard you had an interesting handler last time and was a bit of a cowboy and did

things a little differently than most of us do.

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Um and you have no cell designation, as it were, I believe.

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I don't even know what that means, ma'am.

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Great.

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Yeah.

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You're in the right place.

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You phrase that as though is an abnormality, does that carry any sort of weight?

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We're all extra legal, so we just are extra legal in different ways, I would say, and um

your last handler, again, I've never met the guy, but he was a little loose.

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Looser than I like to play things, which is why I'm d designating you R Cell.

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Well funny story, I would actually say he was pretty uptight.

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uh

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Yeah, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting with him since he's well, anyway, he or you

are here because we need to sell to look into something and Mash might have encountered

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what we are looking for at some point.

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Mash Afghanistan a few months ago anything strange happened?

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Yeah, that's one way to put it.

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I that was about fifty pounds of strange in a three pound bag, ma'am.

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I still don't really know what what that was.

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I haven't been purview to any of the intel that you gathered, but what I do know is that

there has been some items moving across the globe, and we had somebody on it, and that

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somebody triggered a GPS signal outside of El Paso a few days ago, and we want to see why.

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Now, we've been hunting down a well, it's not really Soviet, but it's classified and as a

Soviet artifact.

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It's a BBK classification, which is like the Soviet version of us, I would say.

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and it's called 86.29, 6.1, and then a bunch of Russian characters that I don't understand

what they mean.

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But essentially, when we ran it by the nerds and the Cold War nuts, s still living in the

past, they said that this classification was

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Other esoteric and occult teachings.

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So we have a German artifact clu stolen by the Soviets at some point, moving from

Afghanistan to Iran, and then South America, we think Brazil, maybe even Argentina, we're

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not quite sure.

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And then that's when we get involved.

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You know anything about the Fourth Reich?

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Uh I know a lot of got out wait, wh oh, I'm sorry, you said fourth.

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Yeah, it's a bit of a yeah.

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Uh it is self explanatory, isn't it?

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Well, you had a bunch of old Nazi assholes hiding in South America, Boys of Brazil type

shit.

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You've seen I've probably seen the book.

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It's not fiction, some of it's real.

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And they like to try to c collect artifacts and we had somebody on the inside.

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But the curious thing is usually they collect it and keep it there.

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But this was flagged by our person on the inside as coming north to us.

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So going from from South to South America, up through North America to here in Texas.

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Yes.

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Yeah.

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And I don't know go ahead.

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Mash, sorry, excuse.

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so in Afghanistan I I had a guy the guy that walked out of the desert, got a weird call.

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I was supposed to find something in a village there, and I'm pretty sure what I was

looking for was already taken by someone, maybe.

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Do you think that thing is this thing?

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Okay.

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But

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I mean, that's why we need you to go look into it.

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Now, there are rumors.

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Okay, you know, we had somebody feeding us a little bit of intel along the way on a drip

feed, but these are people connected to some of the nastiest folk you could even think of

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or imagine.

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So it's a little hard to get word out.

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In the art world, there has been a myth of this tape.

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The Nazi depravity that happened toward the end of Hitler's reign in Germany.

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Some people called it the Eva tape.

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I would say that well, people a little more crude call it the Hitler sex tape.

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Apparently, this film reel has uh a documented um copulation between Hitler, Eva, and some

other people in one of the bunkers.

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And it's been in the art world.

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as a rumor for years and years and years and people want to get their grubby hands on this

thing for reasons obvious, um, if this were um Hitler copulating in his last days in

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Germany.

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And those are just the rumors.

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Sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm maybe just a little lost.

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Mash, were you saying you're in Afghanistan hunting down a copulation tape of Hitler or am

I conflating two different things here?

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was hunting down an artifact.

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I I found a bunch of tapes of Nazi stuff.

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Uh no one said anything about a secret Hitler sex tape though.

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That is news to me.

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m Well Mash, your intel, at least the byline that I got from it was that this village

reacted in a strange way.

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And I don't want to assume it's whatever's on that film reel or tape or whatever we want

to call it, but to be sure we need to retrieve that artifact.

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Yeah, I guess now that I think about it, all the women in the village were pregnant at

roughly the same gestational age.

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So if this was some kind of weird sex fertility thing, I I'm sorry, I don't understand the

words that are coming out of my mouth right now.

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This is all really weird.

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I I'm just gonna shut up and listen.

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And if you have specific questions, I'll I'll be happy to give a debrief.

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I'm struggling to process what I'm what I'm saying right now.

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Ma'ams.

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Yeah.

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Caroline and Barone, are you adapted to helplessness?

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Okay.

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Baron, are you adapted to helplessness?

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Probably not.

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No.

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Yeah.

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Can you roll sanity?

344

:

Actually both of you need to roll sanity even if you're adapted.

345

:

Yeah, sure.

346

:

No, you're fine.

347

:

Okay.

348

:

Um looking for fifty five.

349

:

I got a nine.

350

:

Double O nine.

351

:

We're good.

352

:

Yep, it was a zero one, so you do not lose any from hearing him talking about pregnant

women at the same gestational age.

353

:

Well okay.

354

:

So let me back up.

355

:

We're getting too into the weeds here.

356

:

Uh she rubs her eyes, and you do notice the paper in front of her is extremely small.

357

:

People with high bureaucracy would realize that the when you have that little information,

it usually means some really bad shit is happening.

358

:

okay.

359

:

A few nights ago, around when you probably got a communique, so four days ago, we the guy

on the inside triggered a GPS transponder that was given f to him just in case anything

360

:

insane happens or anything we would look into happens, and that was triggered.

361

:

Triggered outside of a place called Wallace Town, which is some old ghost town outside of

El Paso.

362

:

I don't know shit about this land, and I hate it here 'cause it's hot.

363

:

We found a friendly name.

364

:

Sheriff Miller.

365

:

He hasn't done direct work with us or seen anything like Mash has seen, but he's a good

man and he knows this country like the back of his hand from what I'm told.

366

:

And he is gonna meet you at a diner outside of the city and take you out to where this was

triggered.

367

:

He's been briefed lightly, so keep details to yourself, just not to implicate him in

anything uh strange.

368

:

Alright, so get out there, meet him, go to the diner and keep it quiet.

369

:

I think that's simple enough.

370

:

Um there she looks around a little bit.

371

:

There's not is this is the team.

372

:

This is the team, right?

373

:

There's not uh anybody anybody else join joining us by chance, is there?

374

:

Just us three?

375

:

I don't like to pussyfoot around it, so I will tell you that all of this is not legal and

if you are captured in any way or implicated in anything, you will be disavowed and

376

:

somebody will probably come and kill you.

377

:

So this is the team that we have thrown together.

378

:

Mash, we believe has encountered something like this, and you two, well, um, you guys are

the best we could get in the timeline we needed it.

379

:

You are instilling a high sense of covenance.

380

:

Thank you so much for that pep talk.

381

:

That's well understood.

382

:

What she said, yes.

383

:

Well, I have nothing but confidence for you and of you.

384

:

Um, you all seem very capable.

385

:

You are R Cell.

386

:

And so when if you are approached by somebody you think might be involved in this program,

then you tell them that you are R Cell.

387

:

You are designated the R Cell.

388

:

If they don't know what that means, then they are not with us.

389

:

Noted, right.

390

:

And then if we tell the wrong person that we're our cell and then we have revealed who we

are, we're gonna get shot in the back of the head in the middle of a field.

391

:

So you best be sure you know who you're talking to.

392

:

Absolutely, unless they don't know who they're talking to and then you need to tell them

that you're our cell and then they'll know that you're our cell and then but if it's the

393

:

ra and then I'm spiraling.

394

:

I'm spiritually.

395

:

Keep your information to yourself.

396

:

What I'm trying to say is R Cell is the best way to identify if they are friendly or not.

397

:

You can say R Cell all you want.

398

:

You can run out through this lobby screaming R Cell if they're just gonna think you're

crazy.

399

:

Okay.

400

:

It as s like a a code word.

401

:

You say it and they give a counter sign or something.

402

:

That's that's what you're getting at.

403

:

And and if I just say, You got any of them R cell batteries?

404

:

and they look at me like, What the fuck are you talking about?

405

:

There's no R cell batteries and I I no, it's not one of our people.

406

:

I I I still don't understand what this actually means, but I guess that's our designation,

so

407

:

That is your designation.

408

:

Now, Mash, I would appreciate I mean, you understand the seriousness of what you're

looking for out here.

409

:

And this is not a matter of like, oh, you know, I don't really want to do this, so I'm

gonna go back home.

410

:

Like the consequences of something like Mash reported on from Afghanistan getting out and

spreading is catastrophic.

411

:

So please, please do a good job.

412

:

Yes, ma'am.

413

:

Yeah, uh the things I saw, if something like that's here yeah, that could be really bad.

414

:

Again, I I don't know what else to say about what the hell is going on here.

415

:

okay, yeah.

416

:

yeah.

417

:

I I'm having flashbacks.

418

:

Do we know of of any other cells uh working in the area that we might um run into or

should just know of their whereabouts or functions or activities?

419

:

Bro.

420

:

The cell structure is set up this way, so we don't know who's operating where, because we

can't then we can't rat each other out.

421

:

But I am with F Cell and I will be in the area.

422

:

And she points over to a duffel.

423

:

There are cellular phones and walkie-talkies for you there.

424

:

You can give me a call anytime.

425

:

My number is the only number on those things.

426

:

great, yeah, no.

427

:

Uh all right.

428

:

Understood F Cell Freya.

429

:

Thank you.

430

:

And then she'll um w walk over and s start collecting the things and waiting for any more

of the prepper information as she starts to get to work.

431

:

Any other questions before I find a cooler place to

432

:

Don't know what they would be, ma'am.

433

:

Well, I'm not gonna hold your dick while you piss, so you guys have at it and report back

when you have the artifact.

434

:

Simple as that.

435

:

You heard the lady.

436

:

Come on now.

437

:

Yep.

438

:

Well, time to move out.

439

:

Did you guys drive here, fly?

440

:

Yeah, no, sorry.

441

:

I have a unhealthy affinity for things with four wheels, so we could we could take mine.

442

:

I have a Bronco, it's it's right out front.

443

:

do you you go by Mash or Rainy?

444

:

I kind of lost my train of thought there and said my name without listening for a uh a

name a name back.

445

:

You can call me Mash, ma'am.

446

:

That's it's my name.

447

:

I guess if we're R Cell, I I d I don't I just we call ourselves that.

448

:

I it sh her she said her she was F Cell, her name's Freya.

449

:

Is that like that's a code name?

450

:

We could we could be Rainy Cell.

451

:

That that's what the R stands for.

452

:

We're Rainy Cell now.

453

:

I would have thought it shouldn't be my name.

454

:

That's usually kinda the point of code names, but I you guys are the experts here.

455

:

I Ms Ms.

456

:

Volichek, y you seem to be a little bit more put together and and thinking properly than

either of us at the moment.

457

:

I have never showed up to an airport after getting a a weird uh tape in a post office box

and then had a woman tell me to go look for a Hitler sex tape.

458

:

But you know this is new territory for all of

459

:

Okay.

460

:

Alright.

461

:

But with that being said, it seems like we ought to maybe find a place to set our things

down and uh go talk with Sheriff Miller.

462

:

That's what I was thinking.

463

:

no point getting bogged down, just move forward, and that's the next point of contact.

464

:

So I agree, let's do it.

465

:

Yeah, all right.

466

:

Well look, if our cell is meant to be uh an umbrella to cover our human personas, then

perhaps best to have a name in your back pocket just in case you don't want to put your

467

:

whole self out there.

468

:

Think on it, would you?

469

:

Well ma.

470

:

Mm make our way out of the airport and up up and towards um the Bronco kind of out front.

471

:

And as we get kind of close, um I'll toss the bag to Mash and be like, Hey Mash, if could

you throw this in the back for me uh really quick?

472

:

I I'll grab some stuff out of the front.

473

:

I kinda brought something along to bolster the spirits.

474

:

And then

475

:

it with my left hand and put it in the back.

476

:

As Mash um goes to to let the the tailgate down, um, I kind of like look over at Caroline

and um pull over just a little bit.

477

:

And uh Morgan looks at Caroline as like, All right, so this is I think the next time that

I thought I would we would be seeing Agent Ryan again.

478

:

And the fact that he's not here doesn't make me feel nice and fuzzy inside.

479

:

Um

480

:

I th guess I expected dis to see him at least again sometime.

481

:

Yeah.

482

:

she will casually pull her kerchief off her head, start fluffing her fingers through her

hair and just say, I have to assume he's on to bigger and better things.

483

:

Morgan uh smiles just a little bit and uh gives a huh, yeah.

484

:

No, yeah, yeah, something like that.

485

:

And she uh pats Carolyn uh softly on the shoulder.

486

:

I really do have something um for every for everybody though.

487

:

And she turns around and she she opens up the passenger side door and pulls out a cooler.

488

:

And in the cooler, she pulls out uh three glass bottles full of uh Mexican Coca-Cola, and

she's like

489

:

I thought it would uh I thought it'd be nice to uh start it off with a little kick and she

goes and hands mash one and hands caroline one and pops the top and she's like uh Bonapet

490

:

and she holds it out for cheers.

491

:

Yeah, right on theme, Barone.

492

:

I like where your head's at.

493

:

Caroline will pull open her clutch and inside there is a tiny little ampule filled with o

a white powder and she will snap the top off and she will t t t in each of those three

494

:

just a little bump to get the thing moving.

495

:

No

496

:

Win in Rome Win in Rome.

497

:

You let me know when you arrive.

498

:

Yeah.

499

:

Morgan knocks it back.

500

:

Yeah, mash you drinking?

501

:

I don't wanna be rude.

502

:

Uh I I like take a sip and I'm like, mm, yep, that's Coca Cola.

503

:

Uh I I I'm a allergic to caramel coloring.

504

:

So uh y'all can have the rest.

505

:

If I take too much it'll it'll give me tummy issues.

506

:

I I still don't know what's happening here.

507

:

Uh okay.

508

:

Well just

509

:

To simplify it, that means two for me and none for you, but also, uh, we're just getting

in the car.

510

:

And she grabs the bottle from his hand, scoffs at him, and then walks around to the to the

driver's side and opens the door and starts up that big old V6.

511

:

Womp boom, don't uh

512

:

The giddy up.

513

:

Yeah.

514

:

No, I I I get ya.

515

:

It's m maybe I'll get there.

516

:

I you know, new situation, I kinda wanna uh keep systems running clean until I I I get my

feet on the ground, ma'am.

517

:

Keep your wits about you, I like that.

518

:

You keep yours your way and I'll keep mine mine.

519

:

I like that.

520

:

I think we'll get along well.

521

:

Yeah, you have advantage on all willpower checks now, Caroline.

522

:

As long as you're doing Coke, so Yeah.

523

:

Yeah, you driving out to the diner straight away?

524

:

Yeah, I think car packed up, uh the whole team in tow, we have clear marching orders.

525

:

I think we're we're headed straight on over.

526

:

Um I think probably route right around this time, it's snack time anyways, and she's

looking forward to some food.

527

:

So unless anybody has anything else to say, I think I'm driving on over.

528

:

Yeah, you get to the new clock, which is a staple in El Paso, but you see the sign that

says New Clock.

529

:

New is really small.

530

:

It just says simple things, pancakes, coffee shop, and the windows reflect back the sun.

531

:

They are there are curtains down in them and it's pretty busy and bustling.

532

:

Guys just roll in.

533

:

Yeah, I think we'll slide on into a booth, um, pick up the menu, see what's looking good.

534

:

You get in and in the far back there is a one of those uh rounded booths and there is a

sheriff sitting back there, just sitting there with a cup of coffee and looking at a

535

:

newspaper.

536

:

Well, there's our boy.

537

:

Let's go say hello.

538

:

Yeah, please lead the way.

539

:

You walk past a busy hostess and she squeezes by you with a tray of food.

540

:

And you the sheriff puts down the paper and you see he's got a badge.

541

:

He's a little old.

542

:

He's a big man.

543

:

He's got you know the tendons in his bones probably have dust from the border in them.

544

:

His skin is the texture of getting to be the texture of old leather.

545

:

It's not there yet, but you can see it's on that verge.

546

:

And

547

:

He looks up at you and gives you a strange kind of smile.

548

:

He's like, Ooh, howdy.

549

:

Howdy right back at you, sir.

550

:

Yeah, he stands up s excuse me, ma'am, and he pulls off his cowboy hat, a white one, and

sets it in the back of the booth, messy hair s matted with sweat, holds out a hand to

551

:

shake.

552

:

Yeah, I'll take it with both and class the back of it.

553

:

Yeah.

554

:

Yeah.

555

:

Which is a nice little shake.

556

:

Pleasure to be in your town.

557

:

Yeah, the the top of his hand is much softer than his grip.

558

:

His grip is almost like sandpaper.

559

:

And as he shakes your hand, his eyes meet your eyes, and he has like a a depth to them.

560

:

They're sharp and blue.

561

:

He looks quick as a fox and he gives you a little smile.

562

:

Um, but you also see the exhaustion back there.

563

:

And he says, Well, ma'am, I do appreciate making your acquaintance.

564

:

Oh you're uh

565

:

Awful pretty to be um wrapped up with whatever's going on here.

566

:

Um and he turns to Barone and he's like, Ma'am, um, hello?

567

:

Hello, yes, we are here too.

568

:

And I I stick out my hand for a handshake.

569

:

Yeah, same deal.

570

:

Shakes hand, holds it tight.

571

:

It's like you got a grip on you, don't you girl?

572

:

uh

573

:

Stronger than you would believe, absolutely.

574

:

And then I l let go almost as as quick as I possibly can after that.

575

:

Yeah.

576

:

Mash, same thing.

577

:

Howdy, I'm Sheriff Miller.

578

:

Pleased to meet you too.

579

:

Pleased to meet you, sir.

580

:

I hear you might have some information for us.

581

:

Yeah.

582

:

I got some information.

583

:

You guys hungry?

584

:

Yes sir.

585

:

Yeah.

586

:

Yep, I could go for some coffee as well.

587

:

Um, I sit on down and open up a menu.

588

:

Yeah.

589

:

You sit down, there's one menu, that's his.

590

:

You know, the hostess brings more, and there's just typical diner fair with a southwest

flare.

591

:

And oh yeah, yeah, um your people gave me a a map and told me to get you here.

592

:

And he pulls out a map, puts it on the table, points to in the middle of the desert.

593

:

Um this this area, well, it's uh

594

:

It's not the most hospitable land.

595

:

Um and yeah, as he as he's done this, you do notice that he has a gold cross and he's got

a bunch of rings.

596

:

Does anybody ha have any like history, occult, anthropology?

597

:

I think the best

598

:

Mm.

599

:

Same across the board for occult nothing anthropology.

600

:

Yeah.

601

:

Yeah.

602

:

He seems like a good Christian, right?

603

:

And it's real tough land out here.

604

:

And he points to a access road.

605

:

This from here to here is about twenty miles of bush.

606

:

Um so we're we'd have to be going off-road.

607

:

Usually you'd take a horse for something like this, but got a four wheel drive.

608

:

And look from when I see the vehicle that you got out of, y'all got a four-wheel drive

too.

609

:

Yeah.

610

:

No yeah, big old big old tires on that bad boy too.

611

:

I think it'll do just fine.

612

:

Are you um are you pointing us just to where it is, or are you gonna come with us as well?

613

:

uh I can't let y'all go out there alone, so um I'll be with you every step of the way.

614

:

Um this area is uh well, it's the cartel usually does their handoffs around here and it's

pretty nasty out there.

615

:

So yeah, it's no man's land.

616

:

But I'll accompany you and um we'll get to whatever this is that your people want to look

at and um I can also um wait around and

617

:

See what there's to see too.

618

:

I think that will probably generally be unnecessary.

619

:

I think us uh team of three can generally handle ourselves, but I think any guide out

there would be much appreciated.

620

:

Well, you get caught up in one of them handoffs and the cartel sees you, something like

that, like you're sure as shit gonna get killed.

621

:

So I'll watch your back.

622

:

We wouldn't we wouldn't turn down the help, but we wouldn't want you getting in deeper

than you need to, neither.

623

:

sorry, Mash, you were gonna say.

624

:

I

625

:

Just uh you know, Sheriff, uh you said the area is inhospitable.

626

:

people don't usually build access roads to places that don't need access.

627

:

Are you aware of anything out there that someone would want to get to?

628

:

It's a good question.

629

:

And some well, there's a lot of ghost stories around here, but that access road used to

lead up to a town named Wallastown.

630

:

And Wallistown uh was a ghost town.

631

:

And you're still going from that access road 20 miles into the bush.

632

:

So and he points to the map.

633

:

So um yeah, it used to be a place where um from tearers and people would come and

634

:

get a little taste of the Texas sun on the border and head on down to Mexico to get cattle

and trade horses.

635

:

But um that industry's long since dead, so the town's long since dead.

636

:

So it wasn't a a mining town, it was more of a cattle town that got um dried up with that

industry.

637

:

You're not aware of any kind of underground stuff, you know, potential places to store

things out of sight, cartels using it for anything.

638

:

Well, I mean I can tell you the cartels do tend to use tunnels.

639

:

but this this is a little further in than we've seen that happen.

640

:

But um I don't know of any mining in that area.

641

:

Um, but you know, hey, uh I usually work this county, that's a county over.

642

:

All right.

643

:

Hey, I have to imagine that you keep a pretty good pulse on goins ons in your town.

644

:

Um now your eyes are beautiful, but they have a little worry in them.

645

:

Have you seen anything that has given you pause lately or perhaps heard any rumblings of

strange characters moving about?

646

:

Perhaps anybody who's not especially accustomed to this uh this area, someone with perhaps

Aryan markings, anything of that nature.

647

:

Well shit.

648

:

I mean this all used to be KKK area.

649

:

So like the KKK used to protect the border down here in Texas and they would run off any

Mexicans that they saw, um, and do terrible things.

650

:

So yeah, there's boys out here with area markings and it's kind of a part of our tapestry

that we've got down here on in El Paso.

651

:

Um it's a sorted past, if you've ever um

652

:

been to any place where there are two countries that scrape up on against each other.

653

:

What a weave it is.

654

:

Okay, but nothing that is exactly out of the ordinary.

655

:

I mean, I don't know how much you know about any of the old timers, but we didn't even

used to have carried guns around here.

656

:

Like you just sheriff, people just listen to you.

657

:

The type of violence that's bleeding over now is almost for me sometimes incomprehensible.

658

:

So yeah, things are out of the ordinary.

659

:

It just keeps getting worse and worse and worse and worse.

660

:

Telling me times are changing.

661

:

Mm.

662

:

Any of that uh any of that violence ever look like it was done by something not human?

663

:

But you are in El Paso, there's a lot of a lot of UFO stories here.

664

:

Um we have had cattle mutilations, we've had people disappearing.

665

:

You know NAFTA.

666

:

Yes.

667

:

Y'all ever heard of NAFTA, North American trade.

668

:

Yeah.

669

:

Yeah.

670

:

Yeah.

671

:

I mean, ever since NAFTA we got lots of Mexican women coming on up and working at the Coke

factory.

672

:

Pepsi Coke, they all got factories here and they employ the there and and women

673

:

Constantly going missing on the roadway on their way up.

674

:

The company don't give them any transportation, so they beat feet on hoof it up here,

work, and then go back, and a lot of times they don't make it back home.

675

:

It's uh full of ghost stories about why they were disappeared.

676

:

But I mean, I'm the sheriff.

677

:

I know what type of darkness boils in people's homes.

678

:

So, um, I don't think it's anything unnatural.

679

:

I think they

680

:

Just getting taken on the side of the road and easy prey, especially south of the border.

681

:

Sometimes to reckon with the fact that it's your neighbours that you ought to fear.

682

:

Yeah.

683

:

Well uh our neighbors and our own appetites here, so

684

:

Yes, sir.

685

:

Well I say my appetite is something fierce right now.

686

:

Do they have a slice of blueberry pie?

687

:

You saw it when you walked in, glass case and everything.

688

:

Yeah.

689

:

We do so many diner scenes and we're like, what food are you getting?

690

:

What food are you getting?

691

:

So I just skipped it as I

692

:

Yeah, I was like, man, another diner.

693

:

Mmash could really go for just some eggs, hash brown, bacon, black coffee.

694

:

Yeah, yeah no problem, right?

695

:

Baron, what are we going in for?

696

:

Man, you know you know that hot bean water is number one.

697

:

She she gets that in even as they're pouring that real water.

698

:

She's like, no, no, no, where's the good stuff?

699

:

Who's the brown?

700

:

Give me the brown brown.

701

:

Um, and then orders up a a big healthy potato chorizo burrito that she's been thinking on

that entire drive over.

702

:

She's like, fuck yeah, we're going to Texas.

703

:

This is gonna be dope.

704

:

Yeah.

705

:

E before Chipotle, it's like Chipotle size, so yeah.

706

:

Yeah.

707

:

The waitress reminds you that the quak is extra.

708

:

Two dollars that's a fucking ripoff.

709

:

That's it that's insane.

710

:

Avocado.

711

:

Yeah, you get your meals.

712

:

Um Sheriff Miller eats quietly, solemnly.

713

:

Uh he has almost the same thing that Mash has.

714

:

Um some hash browns, eggs, bacon.

715

:

His eggs are over easy and he's dipping his toast in He put his hat back on to Well, well

I mean I I don't really want to ask what brings y'all here, but guys from anywhere

716

:

interesting.

717

:

Okay, figured that.

718

:

Yeah, Mash was about to open his mouth and then looks at Barone and then it just puts his

head back down and keeps eating.

719

:

It's like being stateside's got him a little soft.

720

:

He uh's not used to keeping his mouth quite so shut here.

721

:

Yeah, we're born as the bark on them trees, but I'm sure you've heard uh, you know, plenty

of interesting tales.

722

:

Where you come from, would you mind gracin with a few?

723

:

Yeah.

724

:

Well you y'all go to church and he notes everybody else's silence.

725

:

Well yeah.

726

:

And he recounts a church barbecue and all the kids running around and curious about his

gun.

727

:

And some of the older boys like really wanting to have that gun.

728

:

And then he takes them out in the desert a few days later and lets them shoot and it like

makes their day.

729

:

Just simple stories like that.

730

:

This is a simple church going Sunday potluck guy.

731

:

And then yeah, he even he has a little satchel and he pulls out a like a little knitted

figurine.

732

:

It's like, yeah, my my wife, she she knits these.

733

:

And um, you know, when she's bored at home, so she'll knit anything.

734

:

Like you ask her for a blanket and we can get it to you in a few days.

735

:

So and he like passes it around like.

736

:

Very proud of like her work.

737

:

Yeah, Barone takes it and uh and uh turns it turns it over in her hand.

738

:

Really, it doesn't matter what the craft is, if your hands are used to do it and you're

good at it, um, you know, Barone would would generally take notice.

739

:

So she turns it over back and forth and she's like, Well I'll be damned, that's uh one

hell of a one hell of a job there.

740

:

Look at that.

741

:

That's uh that's pretty great.

742

:

Yeah, it's a llama, so mm it's nice.

743

:

Yeah, uh how how much?

744

:

Oh she uh some no one I mean you can just take it.

745

:

She makes these like all the time, so

746

:

Really?

747

:

All right, yeah.

748

:

I've been looking for something for for the rearview mirror for like weeks, but you know

nothing's really uh struck my fancy.

749

:

But this looks uh this looks great and she holds it up and dangles it like three inches in

front of her face, just elated over the moon with this tiny little thing that's so well

750

:

made by by somebody's hands.

751

:

Yeah.

752

:

Well, yeah, I mean, if anybody ever asks you about it, tell them that Darla from El Paso,

Texas, made that.

753

:

And she'd get a kick out of that.

754

:

Darla.

755

:

Well do.

756

:

Well uh also tell her thanks and tell her uh tell her good work.

757

:

This is uh this is great.

758

:

And she uh tucks it in her in her pocket in her button up shirt and st starts going to

town on that burrito.

759

:

Yeah, you eat.

760

:

Um

761

:

Yeah, I think Caroline was originally asking just to keep the commo f conversation flowing

and to keep the spotlight off of us.

762

:

But there is something that she finds pleasantly simple about the good natured way this

man talks about the people close to him.

763

:

I think she is perhaps used to people using things for their own to their own ends for

their own means.

764

:

And there is a very charming quality.

765

:

Um that does put her at ease.

766

:

Keon him talk.

767

:

Yeah, and you once you've turned on the spigot, it's talk and talk and talk and so

768

:

That's really all I wanted.

769

:

I'll give a little wink to the others.

770

:

We don't need to say much.

771

:

Yeah.

772

:

I think Mash is sitting there and he's listening, he hears about the story about the

sheriff uh taking the boys out shooting and he starts thinking about him and his own

773

:

brother learning to shoot growing up, hunting, you know, in southern rural Missouri in the

Ozarks.

774

:

And he just kinda gets lost in that for a little bit and then kinda comes back to Barone,

uh, holding this llama in front of her face and he's uh thoroughly confused.

775

:

He's like, mm, whatever, seems harmless and then just kinda listens to the stories and

keeps eating.

776

:

You are full.

777

:

By the end of the meal, the sheriff does a big old stretch.

778

:

Well, I suppose we should get on the road.

779

:

Um

780

:

Yeah, just how long do you think we'll be on the road for?

781

:

As far as provisions, precautions, all that go, do we need overnight supplies?

782

:

Oh, I don't think anything like that unless and you y'all can camp, but um it's easy

camping out there, there's plenty flat, but it's just a pain in the ass to get around the

783

:

scrub brush and rocks.

784

:

I'd rather not carry more than we have to.

785

:

Um, but I'll leave that up to you, Mash.

786

:

I imagine you spent a fair bit more time in the wilderness than I ever have.

787

:

Yeah, I mean I'm no stranger to to desert mountain desert.

788

:

Um I've got a couple of things in my pack, you know, that I can bring.

789

:

I got my larger bag with all my stuff, but I also got my uh you know, my go bag so to

speak.

790

:

Limited provisions, couple of light, space blankets, small radio, flint, tinder, water.

791

:

Yes, sir, it sounds like we can make do if we have to.

792

:

Yeah, no, most definitely.

793

:

I have three or four tents in the back of that beast and you know, a couple sleep sacks

and a number of other things.

794

:

I don't think I really ever leave home without it.

795

:

Uh at least not not when I don't have to.

796

:

We're we're set.

797

:

Now I don't have like a a hotel room or a concierge or anything for you though, Caroline.

798

:

I think you'll have to make do with just a measly four pillows for yourself instead of

twenty three.

799

:

That's very funny.

800

:

I don't know if you remember where you found me, but I am at home amongst the woods.

801

:

I don't just much care sleeping in

802

:

yes, no we got that.

803

:

You wanted to get the fuck out of there as soon as humanly possible, so I just figured you

hated the place.

804

:

Well that place in particular, but it does feel a little like home in the best way.

805

:

You're sitting there and there's a TV with the news playing and it's CNN and there's a

huge fire in Idaho and everybody's kinda like watching that.

806

:

He gets up, stretches again, kinda pushes his back and says, Well, y'all follow me or you

wanna take your crack at it and he looks at you, Barone.

807

:

I good good one.

808

:

Uh no, yes, no, we'll play we could play follow the leader.

809

:

I'm more than happy just to follow you.

810

:

Great.

811

:

Uh anybody want to keep me company?

812

:

Yeah.

813

:

uh

814

:

Ride with Barone, two and two, even split.

815

:

Deal, more Coca-Cola for me.

816

:

Great.

817

:

You get out into the car, he's got a Ford Explorer, and you get in and head on the road.

818

:

You're both driving.

819

:

You are on Black Top for a long, long time.

820

:

And Black Top now turns into desert floor.

821

:

And the sun beats down on the earth.

822

:

There's scrub brush that is in twists and scrambles everywhere.

823

:

You see shale coming out of the ground.

824

:

It's like kind of looks like Arth.

825

:

Arthritic bone that's dried, just sitting up and hunched over, cracked.

826

:

And yeah, the sheriff Miller navigates it with ease, buzzes around.

827

:

It's almost like second nature to him.

828

:

He's not slamming on his brakes.

829

:

He doesn't even put it into four-wheel drive as he's going out.

830

:

He just keeps it in to rear-wheel drive and buzzes out.

831

:

And as you're driving, yeah, there is conversation to be had.

832

:

Yeah, so Barone, it seems like you and uh Voluchek?

833

:

Is that a what's her name?

834

:

Uh you guys have some kind of dynamic.

835

:

I feel like I'm new here and I'm stepping into something that seems friendly but maybe

slightly antagonistic.

836

:

Am I am I reading that right?

837

:

you mean Caroline?

838

:

Uh She's great.

839

:

Uh if if you go through hell together, sometimes you come out the other side a bit more

connected than you went in, um, and other times you're just fucking happy to be alive.

840

:

Yeah.

841

:

I yeah, I've been in those situations.

842

:

Absolutely.

843

:

Um Have you?

844

:

Uh yeah.

845

:

I uh you know, I was in the CIA, I was an intelligence officer uh in Afghanistan for about

twenty years.

846

:

Uh did a lot of work with the military, working with local tribes, uh mainly feeding them

weapons to kinda help destabilize regimes that we did not want to come to power.

847

:

don't necessarily agree with everything we did, but that was the job.

848

:

So, you know, trying to sabotage Soviet stuff and all that.

849

:

Well I'll be damned Mash.

850

:

I I guess there's uh there's definitely a reason why we're here.

851

:

I didn't really expect it to be that.

852

:

I mean all I do is fix cars and beat on tools and stuff, and they kinda brought me along,

so uh great.

853

:

Qu qualified.

854

:

Green check mark for Mash.

855

:

I I I guess I still don't know what this is.

856

:

I I thought you guys were like FBI or something.

857

:

well I mean s CIA and you know maybe other stuffs in our real life, but I've learned

really kind of none of that matters and nobody knows what's happening, is what I've

858

:

learned up until this point.

859

:

Hell our last situation was in a swamp with a a mutant man and a church with dust that

makes you crazy and death, lots of death and stuff in the skies, so it's kind of all over

860

:

the place, my guy.

861

:

yeah yeah, I wasn't thinking anything quite that big, although maybe I still don't

understand the scope of what I have uh stepped into.

862

:

I guess everyone has their moment.

863

:

Uh I I saw a bunch of pregnant women staring at a mountain and then I went into an

underground Nazi lab where a giant or not giant, like a a half little torso baby with

864

:

mouths or something tried to kill a guy, and a man who I'm pretty sure

865

:

Had a Terminator jaw, took a bunch of heroin and we found some Nazi tapes, no sex tapes,

just like Hitler and Himmler showing off artifacts.

866

:

And then when we left the village, a bunch of tiny little baby claw creatures attacked us.

867

:

I don't know what the fuck any of that was.

868

:

I is that real?

869

:

Is that what you guys do?

870

:

I have no idea what's going on here.

871

:

And that's been bugging me for like six months.

872

:

And bugging is is is putting it lightly.

873

:

I'm not there but I do feel like I chose the right car.

874

:

Y you know what, Mash?

875

:

I'm I'm gonna be your sanity check and tell you, you know what brother?

876

:

No, fucking none of that is normal in any capacity whatsoever.

877

:

Something just as weird is probably gonna happen again, and I've learned that too.

878

:

After coming up in a swamp with infectious diseases and metal stuff and a dude who

summoned shit out of the sky and having to burn down a whole fucking swamp and just

879

:

getting out of there and the bugs, mash!

880

:

There's so many bugs, I hated it.

881

:

I fucking hated it and no, none of that was normal.

882

:

And it's not gonna be normal, and we need to understand that.

883

:

You and I together, man.

884

:

I think I I reach down and pick up the two open cokes out of the console, just clink them

together, hand her one, and then I just down half of the other.

885

:

Absolutely.

886

:

She's driving with one hand and just does that spinny thing.

887

:

She p turns it upside down and spins it to make it a whirlpool and just down all in one

gulp.

888

:

Oh man.

889

:

I sorry about that.

890

:

I got lost for a second.

891

:

I d I didn't I didn't know I needed to let that out.

892

:

Yeah, no, that's th that's alright.

893

:

I mean that's kind of the same thing I just did.

894

:

So yeah, yeah, I guess when Frey was talking about needing to keep things contained, I was

worried that those little like tiny baby critters were like gonna get loose in town.

895

:

But it sounds like there's other things too, like insect swarms and magic.

896

:

I I'm just gonna stop talking now and then I just chug the rest of the coke.

897

:

I reach up and turn up the radio.

898

:

What do we got in here?

899

:

You got any tapes?

900

:

This has been nice, but it's time for silence.

901

:

Yeah, I mean it's kinda the tape's stuck on a boarded fetus right now, so we're just kinda

listening to that on loop.

902

:

I'll take it.

903

:

Actually no, the baby thing is a little bit too close.

904

:

Radio.

905

:

Oldies.

906

:

I need four tops.

907

:

Four seasons.

908

:

Frankie Valley.

909

:

Something calm.

910

:

Yeah, there's no reception out here.

911

:

You get some AM preachers, but that's about it.

912

:

Yeah, alright, aborted fetus it is.

913

:

Caroline, any conversation to be had with sheriff?

914

:

Well, you know, I suppose um he seems a bit like a sentimental man and that perhaps he got

into this line of work for good reasons, and there aren't that many good reasons to be had

915

:

there anymore.

916

:

So I I suppose I'd like to ask him about how he sees himself getting out of this mess.

917

:

His line of work to be particular.

918

:

Well, sh shit.

919

:

I always said I'd retire, but I keep pushing it off and I'm almost there.

920

:

I don't I don't know why I keep doing it.

921

:

Hmm.

922

:

Guess it gets harder every year.

923

:

On my body.

924

:

on my mind too, suppose, with a amount of violence.

925

:

See here and there.

926

:

Staters and feds usually handle most of that stuff, but you know uh comes by my desk too.

927

:

Yeah, it's it's exhausting.

928

:

So but I mean, if I were home all day and my wife would get annoyed with me and she'd push

me out of the house anyway, so I don't know how I'm getting out.

929

:

But I guess I do have this dream.

930

:

Just being able to get up in the morning and ride to the afternoon, have a picnic out

somewhere under the sun, and get back up on the horse and ride on back and just do that

931

:

every day until you know, it's my time.

932

:

It sounds like Darla is a good woman.

933

:

I imagine she would pack your lunch dutifully, see you off, and back with a tired smile at

the end of the day.

934

:

That sounds right nice.

935

:

Yeah.

936

:

Yeah.

937

:

I was, you know, n war in Vietnam and when I came back, you know, I was like looking for

something and that's when I found Jesus and you know, Jesus led me to service and that

938

:

service is protecting and that's what I what I do, what I'm called to, and without that, I

don't know how how much I am or what I am beyond that.

939

:

Yeah, almost feels like it's never the right time.

940

:

I understand.

941

:

I understand.

942

:

And this generation coming up, let me tell you, this is something else.

943

:

I just like can't listen to instructions, they're all over the place.

944

:

I can't trust them with a goddamn thing.

945

:

I got plenty of deputies and it's a huge pain in the ass to manage and handing this off to

one of them is that's a real hard chore for me to do.

946

:

I understand, but look, it's hard to see it fall into hands sometimes less capable than

our own, but they have to be allowed to make their own mistakes and mistakes they shall

947

:

make.

948

:

You're telling me I made plenty of mistakes.

949

:

Right, but it took a good man, seeing your potential, to let you do that and keep loving

you anyway.

950

:

Yeah.

951

:

Suppose you're right.

952

:

Suppose you're right about that.

953

:

You get through the shale and there is a a little hill and the sheriff crests it and stops

and points out and you see down over the other side of this hill, almost into a basin, a

954

:

few trucks, and you can make out bodies.

955

:

He says, Well, um, this is around where that spot is, and I think we found what

956

:

Y'all might be looking for.

957

:

yeah.

958

:

Caroline will like just to be clear, the bodies look like freshly deceased people.

959

:

Hard to tell from this distance.

960

:

There's some smoke.

961

:

I'm maybe your window's down, you smell gasoline and fire, almost like a tire burning.

962

:

Well okay.

963

:

Caroline reaches into her large satchel, um riding on her hip, and she produces a sizable

handgun, considerably bigger than the last time that she felt the need to be armed.

964

:

It is ivory white with a baby blue ceramic grip and little gold inlays.

965

:

Um and she holds it as though she has just been freshly trained.

966

:

Um

967

:

down by her side as she gets out of the sheriff's vehicle.

968

:

Sheriff steps out, leans over the hood, and pulls out some binoculars.

969

:

Barone, you pull up beside the sheriff.

970

:

Yep.

971

:

Yep.

972

:

I think we we fall in line and uh as soon as we park, start start getting out, grabbing a

a light satchel, um that's packed with some some supplies and get ready, start looking

973

:

around.

974

:

Yeah.

975

:

Are you gonna survey with any sights from the hill?

976

:

Yeah, I think yeah, one hundred percent.

977

:

I don't I think we don't take another step forward without kind of being giving the okay

type stuff, you know, crime scene stuff, don't step where you're not supposed to, listen

978

:

to directions, common sense, things like that.

979

:

So if he doesn't move forward, uh she doesn't move forward also.

980

:

And I think looking through those binoculars is the the way to go.

981

:

Yeah.

982

:

Same for Mash.

983

:

He's still, you know, out of his element.

984

:

He's not quite sure.

985

:

He's he's not gonna make any aggressive moves unless he's told to, or it's demanded

because of safety reasons.

986

:

Yeah.

987

:

Yeah, anybody trying to survey it, give me a search roll or military science land if you

have it.

988

:

Okay.

989

:

Um I'll go first.

990

:

I'm looking for a fifty seven.

991

:

I rolled a twenty seven success.

992

:

Yeah, go ahead.

993

:

Anybody else wants to roll?

994

:

I failed with the sixty seven over thirty.

995

:

Okay.

996

:

Yeah, for our failure and let me roll for Miller sixty-seven fail.

997

:

So you are looking out and you do see that there is a lot of carnage down there.

998

:

You see bodies, you see a vehicles that have been peppered with bullet holes, and it's a

tableau of violence, right?

999

:

And that's what you pick up from it.

:

01:06:01,004 --> 01:06:05,496

There's fire still smoldering somewhere and some black smoke.

:

01:06:05,496 --> 01:06:06,126

Coming up.

:

01:06:06,126 --> 01:06:22,770

Um, Baron, you're looking around and you notice that there is almost like factionally two

different people you're surveying, and you see some flannels with a like with uh cutoff

:

01:06:22,770 --> 01:06:26,233

vests on them, and they're hodgepodge, right?

:

01:06:26,233 --> 01:06:29,306

These guys are like almost like a biker gang, it looks like.

:

01:06:29,306 --> 01:06:34,530

And you see a few bodies like that, and then you see other ones which are

:

01:06:34,976 --> 01:06:45,678

in cowboy boots, also in different types of flannels and tucked in white pearl shirts and

they're all Hispanic or Mexican.

:

01:06:45,678 --> 01:06:49,001

It looks like you had two different factions here.

:

01:06:49,041 --> 01:06:53,666

And that's what you can glean from this distance, but it does look like hell.

:

01:06:53,962 --> 01:06:54,822

Mm.

:

01:07:18,712 --> 01:07:19,342

T

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About the Podcast

Dead Letter Bureau - Delta Green
A Delta Green RPG Actual Play.

Think of it as a rated-R X-Files. Our horror podcast explores deep government conspiracies, terrifying Lovecraftian lore, and cosmic dread. Follow doomed federal agents as they fight a secret war against Unnatural forces, where the only question is if they'll lose their lives or just their minds.

New case files drop every other Tuesday.

About your host

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Dead Letter Bureau

As the arbiter of the game's reality, Nick presents a world where the Unnatural is not just a monster to be fought, but a complex, indifferent force with its own ancient logic. His scenarios are built around deep, interconnected lore, weaving together threads of rogue government agencies, alien biology, and human folly. He guides his players through investigations that are as much about uncovering terrifying truths as they are about the psychological and moral erosion of the agents themselves, ensuring that every choice has weight and every victory comes at a profound cost. His focus is on crafting a deeply immersive and unsettling narrative experience, where the true horror is often found in the quiet moments just before the storm breaks.