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Fandom: Denied Operations (X-Over)
Rating: General
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I'm not making any cash off this. It's all for fun.
Author's Notes: See Below
Rating: General
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I'm not making any cash off this. It's all for fun.
Author's Notes: See Below
ASSESSING
A Denied Operations Story
A Denied Operations Story
Rome, Italy - January 2012
Daphne stood at the window of the hotel, her arms wrapped around herself. Beyond the glass, the city of Rome throbbed with life. She wished, again, that she was out there, in the city, where she could lose herself among the ignorant masses. Instead, she was stuck in this hotel room, under the benevolent gaze of Mister Stockley.
“Why are we here again?” Daphne asked.
Mister Stockley did not look away from the magazine he was reading. “It’s standard operating procedure. The others investigate and we stay here in case they need back-up.”
“I meant why are we here in Rome?”
Daphne turned away from the window. The last eight months had been harrowing for the young woman. She had lost everything: her family, her friends, her hopes of a ‘normal’ life. Stockley felt a wave of sympathy for her.
“This is a waste of time,” said Daphne.
“The director disagrees.”
Daphne glared at the man who stepped into the suite. John Amsterdam was a tall, lanky man with neatly trimmed brown hair and a languid smile. It was still difficult for Daphne to accept the fact that Amsterdam was over four hundred years old.
“Your group is still being assessed,” explained Amsterdam. “This sort of field invetigation is part of that process.”
“Fine,” snapped Daphne. “Then let us get out there and investigate!”
“Yes,” said Amsterdam, “because exposing a telepath to a body-jumping demonic entity would be such a brilliant idea.”
Mister Stockley frowned. “I thought this was an after-action investigation? That the entity wasn’t present.”
“The Vatican doesn’t believe it’s still present,” admitted Amsterdam. “But we aren’t taking chances.”
“What if it is still hanging around?” asked Stockley.
“If it is, we deal with it.”
The stocky black man frowned. “How?”
“Sam,” said Daphne.
Amsterdam looked at her for a moment, then shook a chiding finger in her direction.
“No fair eavesdropping.”
“I didn’t have to eavesdrop,” said Daphne. She looked away, embarrassed. “You’re practically shouting it.”
“If the entity that possessed Maria Rossi is still hanging around, still a threat, Sam’s reaper nature will let him deal with it.”
“Making our presence here a waste of time,” said Daphne.
Amsterdam sat next to Stockley. “Hardly. This mission isn’t just about investigation or assessment, Daphne, it’s about exposing all of you to the kind of situations that the DOG handles. Situations outside of your experience.”
The young woman seethed. “I’ve got experience.”
“Yes, of a certain type,” agreed Amsterdam. “If you stay with the DOG, though, you can expect to encounter things way outside of what even you feel comfortable with.”
“Like demons?” said Mr. Stockley.
“Demons, ghosts, mad scientists, superhumans, mutants, undead serial killers, zombies, aliens.” Amsterdam ticked them off on his fingers. “Denied Operations deals with the impossible and the monstrous, Mr. Stockley. If you stay, you’ll see and do things that will leave an indelible mark on your soul.”
Daphne squirmed.
“What?” asked Amsterdam.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” she said, “but you were thinking of this place so loudly.” She stared at Amsterdam. “Ogden Marsh.”
Mister Stockley frowned. “That name is familiar. Wasn’t there some kind of chemical accident there a few years ago?”
“A cover story,” said Amsterdam.
“What happened there?” asked Daphne.
“The town’s water supply was tainted by a chemical weapon,” said Amsterdam. “DOG went in to investigate, after some initial reports. We thought it might have been a zombie outbreak. Those happen from time to time.”
“But it wasn’t,” said Daphne.
Her face had gone white. Amsterdam looked at her, suspecting that she was viewing his memories.
“No, it wasn’t.”
“What did you do?” asked Mr. Stockley.
He glanced from Daphne to Amsterdam. The man had shut down, his voice taking on a monotone drone. Daphne looked pale and shaky.
“We had to fight our way out,” said Amsterdam. “Afterwards, the army went in and cleaned out the town.”
Mister Stockley stared at him. “When you say cleaned out. . . .”
“They killed everyone,” said Amsterdam. “It was the only way to contain the situation.”
Daphne wiped her eyes and turned back to the window.
“The others are back,” she announced.
A moment later, the door opened.
Abby Simpson and Vince Faraday were arguing, as usual. This time their subject of choice seemed to be politics and whether Matt Santos could win a second term. Trailing behind them, looking irritated, was Sam Oliver.
“How did it go?” asked Amsterdam.
“Dead end,” said Sam. He fell into a nearby chair and yawned.
“What’s the protocol on handling wild goose chases?” Faraday asked, scowling.
“Be grateful it was a wild goose chase,” said Amsterdam. “Sam, you want to make the call?”
“Yeah, sure.”
He stood and ambled into one of the bedrooms. A moment later, they could hear him speaking to someone back in California.
Abby perched on the edge of the couch, next to Amsterdam. “What now? Job’s done. Do we head back or can we take in some of the local sights?”
Before Amsterdam could answer, Sam reappeared.
“Sorry, folks. Mister J wants us on the plane, heading back to Yoyodyne, like, yesterday.”
“Why?” asked Amsterdam.
“Don’t know,” said Sam. “He just said that there was something big in the wind and he wanted us there.”
“Great,” muttered Faraday. “No rest for the wicked.”
Amsterdam stood, pulled out his cell phone. “Start packing, people. I’ll give Murdoch a call, have him get the plane ready.”
“Why are we here again?” Daphne asked.
Mister Stockley did not look away from the magazine he was reading. “It’s standard operating procedure. The others investigate and we stay here in case they need back-up.”
“I meant why are we here in Rome?”
Daphne turned away from the window. The last eight months had been harrowing for the young woman. She had lost everything: her family, her friends, her hopes of a ‘normal’ life. Stockley felt a wave of sympathy for her.
“This is a waste of time,” said Daphne.
“The director disagrees.”
Daphne glared at the man who stepped into the suite. John Amsterdam was a tall, lanky man with neatly trimmed brown hair and a languid smile. It was still difficult for Daphne to accept the fact that Amsterdam was over four hundred years old.
“Your group is still being assessed,” explained Amsterdam. “This sort of field invetigation is part of that process.”
“Fine,” snapped Daphne. “Then let us get out there and investigate!”
“Yes,” said Amsterdam, “because exposing a telepath to a body-jumping demonic entity would be such a brilliant idea.”
Mister Stockley frowned. “I thought this was an after-action investigation? That the entity wasn’t present.”
“The Vatican doesn’t believe it’s still present,” admitted Amsterdam. “But we aren’t taking chances.”
“What if it is still hanging around?” asked Stockley.
“If it is, we deal with it.”
The stocky black man frowned. “How?”
“Sam,” said Daphne.
Amsterdam looked at her for a moment, then shook a chiding finger in her direction.
“No fair eavesdropping.”
“I didn’t have to eavesdrop,” said Daphne. She looked away, embarrassed. “You’re practically shouting it.”
“If the entity that possessed Maria Rossi is still hanging around, still a threat, Sam’s reaper nature will let him deal with it.”
“Making our presence here a waste of time,” said Daphne.
Amsterdam sat next to Stockley. “Hardly. This mission isn’t just about investigation or assessment, Daphne, it’s about exposing all of you to the kind of situations that the DOG handles. Situations outside of your experience.”
The young woman seethed. “I’ve got experience.”
“Yes, of a certain type,” agreed Amsterdam. “If you stay with the DOG, though, you can expect to encounter things way outside of what even you feel comfortable with.”
“Like demons?” said Mr. Stockley.
“Demons, ghosts, mad scientists, superhumans, mutants, undead serial killers, zombies, aliens.” Amsterdam ticked them off on his fingers. “Denied Operations deals with the impossible and the monstrous, Mr. Stockley. If you stay, you’ll see and do things that will leave an indelible mark on your soul.”
Daphne squirmed.
“What?” asked Amsterdam.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” she said, “but you were thinking of this place so loudly.” She stared at Amsterdam. “Ogden Marsh.”
Mister Stockley frowned. “That name is familiar. Wasn’t there some kind of chemical accident there a few years ago?”
“A cover story,” said Amsterdam.
“What happened there?” asked Daphne.
“The town’s water supply was tainted by a chemical weapon,” said Amsterdam. “DOG went in to investigate, after some initial reports. We thought it might have been a zombie outbreak. Those happen from time to time.”
“But it wasn’t,” said Daphne.
Her face had gone white. Amsterdam looked at her, suspecting that she was viewing his memories.
“No, it wasn’t.”
“What did you do?” asked Mr. Stockley.
He glanced from Daphne to Amsterdam. The man had shut down, his voice taking on a monotone drone. Daphne looked pale and shaky.
“We had to fight our way out,” said Amsterdam. “Afterwards, the army went in and cleaned out the town.”
Mister Stockley stared at him. “When you say cleaned out. . . .”
“They killed everyone,” said Amsterdam. “It was the only way to contain the situation.”
Daphne wiped her eyes and turned back to the window.
“The others are back,” she announced.
A moment later, the door opened.
Abby Simpson and Vince Faraday were arguing, as usual. This time their subject of choice seemed to be politics and whether Matt Santos could win a second term. Trailing behind them, looking irritated, was Sam Oliver.
“How did it go?” asked Amsterdam.
“Dead end,” said Sam. He fell into a nearby chair and yawned.
“What’s the protocol on handling wild goose chases?” Faraday asked, scowling.
“Be grateful it was a wild goose chase,” said Amsterdam. “Sam, you want to make the call?”
“Yeah, sure.”
He stood and ambled into one of the bedrooms. A moment later, they could hear him speaking to someone back in California.
Abby perched on the edge of the couch, next to Amsterdam. “What now? Job’s done. Do we head back or can we take in some of the local sights?”
Before Amsterdam could answer, Sam reappeared.
“Sorry, folks. Mister J wants us on the plane, heading back to Yoyodyne, like, yesterday.”
“Why?” asked Amsterdam.
“Don’t know,” said Sam. “He just said that there was something big in the wind and he wanted us there.”
“Great,” muttered Faraday. “No rest for the wicked.”
Amsterdam stood, pulled out his cell phone. “Start packing, people. I’ll give Murdoch a call, have him get the plane ready.”
THE END
Author's Notes:
Ah! Rome! The Eternal City! The DOG has been asked to investigate the Maria Rossi Incident by the Vatican and they've sent a 'mixed' team to Rome consisting of fresh recruits and experienced field agents. So, who's who and what's what?
Daphne Powell is the telepathic daughter from the series, No Ordinary Family.
Mr. Stockwell was the advisor to the group of adolescent monster-hunters from The Troop.
John Amsterdam is a 400-year-old man from the series, New Amsterdam.
Sam Oliver is the demon-hunter from the too-short series, Reaper.
Abby Simpson is an ex-thief and former agent of Charles Townsend from the recent Charlie's Angels sequel.
Vince Faraday is an ex-police officer and former masked vigilante from The Cape.
Maria Rossi is a character from the film, The Devil Inside.
"Mr. J" is a reference to the current DOG Director of Operations, Jarod, from the television series, The Pretender.
Murdoch, the pilot referenced by Amsterdam, is none other than "Howling Mad" Murdoch from the television series, The A-Team.
Ogden Marsh is the name of the town where the 2010 film, The Crazies, was set.
Yoyodyne, the current HQ of the DOG, is the name of several companies in fiction and real life; in the DOG Uni, it's one of the major supporters of the DOG.
