She had gotten the scene cleaned up as best she could before leaving for town. Collected some samples, picked up the casings, and did her best to get the fence back into a state that wouldn't be too obvious to anyone walking by. The viscous black residue that was left behind burned up in the sun, sizzling and dissipating into smoke in a dramatic fashion. Hyde was grateful for that; less work on her part. She had to make sure that the samples she took stayed out of direct sunlight. It was a consideration for the science team, since they would be ones that would come back to her with some hard facts about whatever the hell this thing was.
Now came the hard part.
The drive into town was short, and parking was plentiful this early in the morning. The townsfolk were starting to trickle out into the streets, shops opening and getting ready for the day. Produces stands were being set up, the general store sign was flipped to 'OPEN', and Hyde was coming up on the Hammer Hill Police Department. It was an old brick building, built when the town was first established in the 1800s by pioneers on their way west. It had character, but not much in the way of modern policing conveniences, seemingly still running on paper records and having exactly two holding cells for the entire town. Any serious offenses were taken care of by the county, so Hammer Hill PD found themselves with very little actual police work.
Their Chief of Police was also appropriately outdated. Chief Wilson was older, stuffed into his beige uniform with the badge on his chest proudly proclaiming his title. He wore a gun belt that was far too ornate for Hyde to take seriously, the brown leather showing a depiction of a bald eagle, wings spread in majestic flight. The weapon it held finished the old-school look that the town's law enforcement seemed to be aiming for, a blued steel Smith & Wesson revolver that rarely left its holster.
Chief Wilson offered Hyde the level of attention that she had come to expect from this town, which was a tired disinterest with an increasingly flippant attitude. He had made her wait for an inappropriately long time before agreeing to see her, and she was sure that it wasn't because he had any pressing professional matters to attend to. By the time Hyde was walking into his office she was already in a bad mood, and they hadn't even officially met one another yet.
"What agency did you say you were from, again?" he asked from behind his desk, not having bothered getting up to greet Agent Hyde.
"We answer to the Department of Defense," she said, holding her badge out for inspection in case he wanted to confirm it with his own eyes. "You can call our office in D.C. if you'd like, but they're just going to confirm what I'm telling you."
"And you need my officers for...?"
"A search operation." Hyde reached for her phone, to pull up a picture of Strahl for the Chief's edification. "It's urgent, life-or-death. We're looking for-"
"Why wasn't I informed that you were conducting an investigation in my town?" he interrupted.
"We alerted your department of our arrival and, until very recently, that was all the informing that you and your officers needed." she replied in a restrained voice. "Before we proceed, Chief Wilson, I want to make something clear. I'm asking for your cooperation, but I don't need it. I'm not playing this 'jurisdiction' game, I'm not going to kowtow to you because this is 'your town', and I'm not going to let you interrupt me again." Hyde checked her watch. "Two of my colleagues will be here in less than three hours. That's how long you have to get your officers ready. I want them here and I want them ready to work. If you or any of your officers show me or my colleagues even a hint of insubordination, I'll have them detained for obstruction of justice."
Chief Wilson had a hard set to his jaw. Agent Hyde knew it must have been eating him up, and part of her wanted him to go off on her. Explode, throw a tantrum, scream until his face turned red. She'd humiliate him in front of his entire department if she had to. She wasn't going to put up with his ego for a second.
Not while Strahl's life was on the line.
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