Chapter One 

FBI  Federal Building 
Washington, D.C.

A gentle rapping followed by the squeaking of hinges on the unmarked door alerted Darcy to the presence of at least one other person.  He ignored it; instead, he focused on the pictures that lay scattered across his desk. The office itself was cluttered with newspapers and magazines.  On one wall,  a poster proclaiming, "I want to believe" reinforced the yearning passion of the office's occupant.  The man behind the desk greeted the new arrivals with a sarcastic, "Sorry, no one here but the FBI's most unwanted."

Without bothering to look up, he leafed through a stack of papers precariously balanced on the edge of his desk.  Special Agent Carl Denny unceremoniously interrupted the quiet concentration of the dark-haired Special Agent Fitz Darcy.

"Darcy, I'd like you to meet your new partner, Special Agent Elizabeth Bennet."

"A partner," replied Darcy. "When did I become so important?"  He finally lifted his hooded gaze to the brunette woman.  "She is tolerable, I suppose, but not experienced enough to tempt me.  By the way, who did you irritate to get stuck with this detail?"

Bennet cocked an eyebrow and stated serenely, "I'm actually looking forward to working with you."

"Really," muttered Darcy, "I was under the impression you were sent to spy on me."

Bennet bristled, unaccustomed to the ease with which he dismissed her presence.   "If you are doubtful of my qualifications, I could list them for you."

Upon no forthcoming answer, she bemusedly proceeded to do just that.  "Very well, I am a medical doctor with a background in advanced physics...."

Darcy interrupted, "I know all of that, unfortunately, the cases that cross my desk don't closely associate with the laws of physics."  He paused. "Tell me something, do you believe in extraterrestrials?"

Bennet, surprised by the turn of the conversation, drew on her knowledge of Special Agent Fitz Darcy.  At the academy, he was known as a brooding and proud man whose beliefs were a little off the beaten path.  In fact, he was bestowed the nickname "Creepy" by some of the agents.  She smiled inwardly, but her eyes glittered with humor over the appropriateness of the nickname. Bennet, thinking  to alleviate his disapproval, answered, "I really haven't given it much thought."

His mouth thinned.  "As a scientist, prone to rational thought, do you believe in extraterrestrials?"

In response to his marked disinterest in her humor, she sobered and replied, "Logically, no.  The distance for travel is too vast.  Earth's location, by default, would hardly make it a convenient 7-eleven stop." She teased him, once again trying to ease his dislike--after all, they were going to have to work together.

He eyed her closely and bit out, "It's lovely that you can make so light of a topic which--if you stay--will encompass the majority of your cases."

Agent Denny cleared his throat.  Darcy glanced at him, unmoved by his attempt to break the tension in the room, then returned his gaze to Bennet. "Well, Special Agent Elizabeth Bennet, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning--and,  bring your suitcase.  It appears we have a group of 7-eleven customers to investigate."
 
 

Chapter Two
 

Meryton, Georgia

The night was calm; a cool breeze drifted over the grassy fields which surrounded the slumbering town.  Still, the hair on the back of Private Saunderson's neck snapped to attention. 

Something was wrong.  He cautiously moved from his stationary position as guard of the make-shift building to peer closely at his surroundings. Gravel crunched under his feet--the noise grated over his raw nerves. Something scurried behind him halting the private's footsteps. Unholstering his side arm, he quickly turned and aimed blindly into the darkness.

"Stop!  This is a federally restricted area!  I have authorization to shoot on sight," he ordered into the night.  The tent-like buildings offered no answers, nor did they produce a culprit.  Saunderson could here a faint buzzing in the trees ahead of him.  Wrinkling his brow, he holstered the weapon and proceeded toward the noise. 

All sound in the area ceased.  Except for the curious buzz.  As he advanced closer to the darkened treeline, the sound increased until the pitch hummed in his bones.  He looked down at his hands and noticed the reflection of a pale light.  He looked up and a swarm of dancing lights--almost like fireflies--surrounded him.  He smiled and tentatively stretched out his hand to feel the glowing forms. 

 A sharp, exploding pain coursed through his fingers and up his arm as felt the forms.  He looked again at his hand only to find that it was no longer attached to arm.  For that matter, his arm was no longer attached to his body.  His last coherent thought was tinged with fear: he knew he was going to die.  The dancing lights, previously friendly, swarmed their menacing shapes around the private as he slowly disappeared into the night. 

*      *      *

Delta Flight 79

Seated in the coach seats of the 737 airplane, Bennet sighed and rolled her eyes.  'How long is this silent treatment going to continue?' she asked herself.  Darcy, for his part, rifled through an ever-present stack of papers as if looking for something.  Even though her previous attempts at conversation were met with a curt rebuff, Bennett tried once again.

"Darcy, would you at least tell me why we are traveling to a small town in the middle of nowhere?  Is this a spur of the moment thing with you or are you planning some secret rendez-vous with an alien life form?" She quietly winced at her last choice of words--it wouldn't serve any purpose to further alienate her unwilling partner.  'No pun intended,' she thought grimly. 

Surprisingly, Darcy seemed to take no offense and replied, "No planned date, but anything can happen."

Bennet blinked.  Humor from Darcy?  Was it possible?  She smiled and queried, "So what's the point, then?"

"I just find it interesting that the Army suddenly finds a sleepy little town close to no place in particular a good place to encamp a troop of soldiers."

"Could it be they are on maneuvers and needed a place to train?"  Her mirthful eyes belying the innocence of her question.

"There have also been reports of missing townspeople.  The most recent coincides with the influx of military personnel."

"Darcy, last time I checked, Missing Persons was a different section of the Bureau. Try again."

"Let's just say that these disappearances have suspicious nature and the fact that the military has become involved piques my interest."

"Why?  Darcy, what is your obsession with the military?"

"Have you never noticed what happens when the military involves itself in seemingly simple matters?  Or for that matter, complex issues?"  Darcy queried as if speaking to a child.  "Usually some sort of damaging evidence has been found and the military then swoops in and covers up the whole incident.  Do you remember what occurred in the little town of Roswell, Texas?"

"Darcy, you can't really believe that little green men have landed in this obscure town and subsequently have begun abducting its citizens?"  Bennet looked incredulously at her new partner.

"Come on, Bennet.  You can't convince me that you haven't heard the stories circulating around the academy about 'Creepy' Darcy and his propensity toward paranoia?" he said moodily.

"Yes, I must confess that I have heard some of the--tales--"

"Though," he continued as if uninterrupted, "I have been assured that every disposition has a natural defect which not even the best of educations may overcome."

"You must allow that the stories would not be retold with such irreverent abandon if your defect were not to hate everyone on sight."

"While yours is to willfully misunderstand them?" he asked with a sardonic grin; a new light gleamed in his eyes.  The silence lengthened as he stared at her.  It was almost as if he was seeing her for the first time.

"By the way," Bennet interjected to calm the increasingly charged atmosphere, "what exactly do we investigate?"

Darcy hooded his gaze and paused, considering his answer.  "What no one else wants to," was his cryptic reply.  He lapsed into silence and Bennet was left to ponder her conflicting views on Special Agent Darcy. 

*      *      *

Some time later, the pair had checked into a hotel and were en route to one of the sites that Darcy loosely termed the "crime scene."  Since no bodies had ever been recovered, the term was vague indeed.  Bennet sat in the passenger's seat with one hand wrapped around the arm rest and the other clutching a sheaf of papers.  She glared at her partner who was calmly munching on a sunflower seed  while careening through the streets of Meryton, Georgia.  After a few minutes, he slowed the car's erratic pace and glanced at her.

"Next time, Darcy, I drive."

Conflicting emotions passed through his dark eyes as he stared at Bennet. Disconcerted, she focused her attention on the papers in her lap. 

"It states in the police report that four people have been missing a total of 2 weeks.  The most recent victim being Maria Lucas, a seventeen year old girl."

"Yes," he replied, "it seems that she decided to take a midnight stroll through a wooded area that she had previously never been to before."

"Darcy, what makes you think that she was 'abducted' for lack of a better word at that sight?  You said yourself that she had never been to this part of the area before and according to her friends was not a nature-lover. Isn't it plausible that someone kidnaped her earlier in the night in a familiar location. I find it hard to believe that an amorphous entity enticed her into the forest and subsequently beamed her up into its spaceship."

Darcy cocked an eyebrow. "You're the scientist, Agent Bennet, weren't you taught to look at all possible explanations before forming an opinion?"

"Shouldn't it follow that the explanations should be plausible as well as possible?"

A soft humming noise crackled in the air around the two.  "Did you turn the radio on?"  Bennet asked.

Darcy shook his head and slammed on the brakes. 

"Darcy, what's going on?" Bennet cried as she was thrown toward the windshield only to be forcefully pulled back by her seatbelt.  Darcy jammed the car into park and jumped out.  The humming pulsed for a minute, then stopped as quickly as it had started.  He walked around the car and back a few paces trying to  recapture the sound.  Bennet climbed out of the car and watched his actions curiously.  He returned to the car, glanced at the clock, removed a small camera out of the glove compartment, and proceeded to snap pictures of the area. After a few minutes, he climbed back into the car and turned to Bennet. 

"We'd better get going; unless, that is, you would care to walk?" 
 
 

Chapter Three
 

Route 185 
Southeast of Meryton

The waning sunlight streamed through the green foliage as Bennet and Darcy followed the uniformed Sheriff George Phillips toward the suspected kidnaping sight.  Bennet glanced furtively at her surroundings trying to ascertain the site's validity as a crime scene.  In her estimation, the chance was fairly slim.  No tracks led from the area nor was there any sign of a struggle.  In fact, the woods were conspicuously unmarred.  Sheriff Phillips, a burly man in his late forties, casually directed the pair toward a small clearing. 

"Well, here's the place."  Bennet quickly reassessed her opinion.  The clearing would have been a picturesque location for lovers' trysts had the ground not been ruined by a large blackened indentation.

Darcy gazed above into the treelofts.  Bennet followed his gaze, surprised to find the tree leaves to be singed, as if exposed to an extremely hot blaze that was extinguished before it consumed the branches.  Darcy nodded his head once, seemingly checking off items on a list and turned his brooding countenance toward the charred area.

Bennet glanced at the law officer and asked "How did you determine this to be the scene of Maria Lucas' kidnaping?"

Darcy's mouth quirked at her choice of words, but otherwise offered no comment. "Well, ma'am, it's like this.  This is a popular place with some of the local kids.  You know, cowboys and Indians type stuff..."

Darcy, eyeing a pyramid of empty beer cans behind a nearby tree, commented, "It also must make for a pretty happening night club."

The sheriff colored and cleared his throat.  "Well, you know kids..."

Bennet raised an eyebrow, a slight ironic smile played about her lips. 

"Um, anyway, some kids were out here playing when they found these here burned areas.  Thought it was strange because they didn't look like camp fire ashes from toasting marshmallows and the like."

"No, but something--or should I say someone--else was obviously toasted here, Sheriff," Darcy interjected.

Bennet took a deep breath and mentally counted off the seconds before the sheriff regained his composure sufficiently to comment.  '1, 2, 3, 4--'

"Now, you look here, mister!" the officer blustered, "I don't care if you are with the FBI, these are good kids.  Sure they may party a little but they don't burn people alive for fun!"

Bennet sent Darcy a warning look and said, "Calm down, Sheriff.  My partner didn't mean any disrespect."  She glanced at the now kneeling agent as if to say, 'Did you?'

Darcy raised his gaze from the charred soil and replied, "Continue, please, Sheriff Phillips."

The officer heaved a sigh to catch his breath after his tirade and proceeded. "Well, like I said, the kids thought it was strange so they came and told me."

"I'd like their names if possible," Bennet stated while weaving in and out of trees trying to get an overall picture of the area.  "Have you found any other potential crime scenes?"

"Not yet, but I have my deputies working on it."

Bennet knew that the other locations would not be easily forthcoming since the sparsely populated county only had two sheriff's deputies. 

"When did the Army arrive?" Darcy asked, rubbing the blackened dirt between his fingers.

"Well, I guess about five days ago."

"And that was right after the second victim disappeared?"

The sheriff nodded, "Come to think of it, that commander didn't say why they're here."

"Surprise, surprise," Darcy mumbled as he stood up. 

Bennet closed her eyes and, resignedly shaking her head, thought, 'Here we go again.'  "What was the commander's name?" she asked, returning from her tour to Darcy's side.

"Colonel Forster."

*      *      * 
 

Betty and Tom's Country Inn 
Meryton

Bennet sat on the bed in her room gazing at the blue screen of her laptop computer.  She had recorded her notes to report to her superiors about the events of the day and Darcy's views on the case.  Beside her lay multiple sheets from the sheriff's case files on the missing persons. She frowned at the material.  Forensics showed that the ground and nearby trees in the area hadn't been burned, but eroded by some unknown agent.  She stood up and stretched.  A joint in her right shoulder popped, easing the tension in her neck.  Bennet walked to the window and pulled back the drapes.  She gazed across the road into the woods that lined Highway 185.

'What was Lucas doing there?' she asked herself.

Glancing at the papers on her bed, she mused further, 'And why haven't the crime scenes for the other three victims been found?  Evelyn Younge, John Forsythe, and Louisa Hurst must have been kidnapped in the same fashion.'

Bennet opened the door and breathed in the country air.  It was musky, tinged with the sweetness of newly mown hay, a sharp whiff of manure, and the refreshing scent of rain.  She stepped out and pocketed her key. Pausing to adjust her eyes to the darkened sky, she glanced around and picked a path.  She crossed the nearly vacant parking lot and deserted highway to reach the treeline. 

Her running shoes muted her footsteps.  Tree frogs croaked and the occaisional cicada buzzed through the night.  'What made the Lucas scene different from this wooded area?'

A soft crunching of gravel turned her gaze from the trees to her newly arrived partner.

Darcy cocked a sardonic eyebrow and asked, "What's the matter, Bennet? Couldn't think up enough disparaging remarks about my fantastical beliefs to report to the big boys?"

Bennet heaved a sigh, "No matter what you think, Darcy, my only goal on this assignment is to discover the truth.  I'm not going to lynch you--at least, not without proof."

Darcy was deceptively calm.  "The 'truth'?  Is that right?" At Bennet's confirming nod, he continued, "even if that truth concerns the abduction of four people?"

"Darcy, we've been through this.  Logically, there is no such thing as aliens.  They only exist in the minds of people who are too unmotivated or too uniformed to find the real answers."

"I see.  Well, Dr. Bennet, what is your explanation for what is happening here?"

"Do I need an explanation?  Darcy, what exactly do we have here?  We only have one confirmed missing person, Maria Lucas, and three suspicions of missing persons.  We have what could more than likely be remnants of a satanic ceremony in the middle of a forest.  At the very least, these four could be playing some type of sick game to get attention.  Any or all of what we actually have is a lot more rational than the belief that aliens swooped down in a spaceship and beamed them up."

Darcy searched her eyes and said flatly, "You aren't looking for the truth, Agent Bennet.  You've already found it.  It exists in you rational, logical, scientific world.  That's why you were partnered with me.  You were carefully chosen because your mind was made up from the start."

"That's NOT the reason I was assigned to you," Bennet retorted, her eyes blazing.  "I was brought in on the P Files to watch your back and report my findings.  Nothing more.  And as for what I do or do not believe, you can't possibly know because you AREN'T me!  Truth be told, Darcy, I'm not sure what to believe just yet: the ravings of the FBI's former rising star or the cautions of my boss, Assistant Director Edward Gardiner."

Darcy's gaze narrowed as he absorbed the details that surrounded her.  Her flushed cheeks, the tendrils of hair that had escaped from her french braid, and her bright eyes.  A gentle breeze stirred the loose strands and blew them into her face.  As she moved to brush them back, she collided with his masculine hand destined for the same mission.  Her eyes flew to his as he tucked the offending hairs behind her ear.  Discovering his intense survey, she dropped her gaze to her wrist and glanced at her watch.

She cleared her throat, "It's, ah, getting late, we'd better get some sleep before we meet with Colonel Forster tomorrow."

Darcy nodded as she turned and headed back to the hotel.  Bennet could feel his brooding gaze as she crossed the road and entered her room.  Silently closing the door behind her, she leaned against it and wondered, 'What in the world was that?'
 
 

Chapter Four
 

Betty and Tom's Country Inn 
Meryton

Bennet glanced at her watch.  It was 6:34 am. 'Good,' she thought. 'Plenty of time for a run and then a quick shower.'  She checked the laces of her running shoes, stretched one last time, then opened the door of her room. Darcy stood there, poised as if about to knock.

"Going somewhere?" he politely asked.

Bennet nodded, "For a run.  I'd ask you to join me, but you really aren't dressed for it."

Darcy glanced down at his khaki pants and his white t-shirt.  Bennet's eyes brimmed with laughter as she smiled and asked, "Am I allowed to leave my room, Special Agent Darcy, or have you quarantined me for some reason?"

He looked up at her, taking in her aqua sports bra and running shorts.  His eyes narrowed with disapproval.  She raised her eyebrows as if to say, 'Go ahead, say something.'  Bennet glanced at his hand and saw a piece of paper enclosed in it.  "Message for someone?"

"Uh, yes," he answered, offering her the note.  "I picked it up from the front desk when I went to ask about a place for breakfast.  Someone named 'Lydia'?"

"Yes, that's my sister."  Bennet sighed.  "What could she want?"  She took the piece of paper and scanned over the message.  "Oh, good, nothing too important.  I'll call her later.  Now, if you'll excuse me...." she said pointedly.

"Oh, sorry."  Darcy moved to his left and she exited and locked the door.

"I'll be back in an hour," she said over her shoulder as she trotted through the parking lot.

*      *      *

Army Encampment 
Southeast of Meryton

 The gray Ford Taurus slowed as it approached the make-shift gates that guarded the entrance to "Fort Meryton"--a name the locals had bestowed upon the tight clutch of green tents. A young man in fatigues ordered Darcy and Bennet to stop.  Darcy flashed his badge through his unopened window and continued on.  He parked the car near the largest tent, correctly assuming that it housed the colonel.   As they got out of the car, once again, their entrance was challenged.

"FBI," Bennet stated flatly as she looked around.  "We're here to see Colonel Forster."

"Ma'am, I'm not aware of any appointments that include the FBI.  Why don't you come back another time," the lieutenant suggested.

"It's alright, Reynolds," a gruff voice bade the woman.  "I'm Colonel Forster.  And you are?"

"Special Agents Darcy and Bennet," replied Darcy, his eyes moving to the burly man in Army fatigues. 

The colonel sighed and nodded his head.  "Why don't you come into my tent where we can speak in private."  He turned and entered in the gray-green building.  The sentry's hooded gaze followed the agents as they moved to the tent.  As soon as they entered, she turned and walked off into the woods.

"Now, what can I do for you?" the colonel asked gesturing to two chairs placed in front of a metal table which acted as a desk for the officer. The room was sparsely furnished.  A halogen light stood in one corner illuminating the temporary office.  A bookcase with several volumes of Army literature, neatly aligned, faced the entrance. 

"Do you know anything about the four missing people?" Darcy questioned.

"A little.  Over a period of two weeks these people have disappeared." 

"Yes, one of them within this general area.  Tell me something, Colonel. Why all of a sudden is the Army interested in Meryton, Georgia?"  He asked piercing the officer with a direct gaze.

"I'm surprised you took so long in coming here, Agents.  Normally, we are the first ones anyone looks to for misdoings and cover-ups."

Bennet hid a smile, already liking the character of this military man. "Actually," she stated, "we were mainly concerned with the timing of your arrival.  It seemed very convenient that you encamped just after the second victim was reported missing."

Forster nodded.  "Yes, it would seem so.  I assure you, my troops are only here to get experience in a swampy environment."

"If that's the case, there are plenty of other sites, military designated, that would have served your purpose," Darcy commented.

"I'm not your average officer.  The Army has come to appreciate this and allows me a little discretion when it comes to training my people.  I thought that this would offer a new situation, a new ground to train on. Familiarity breeds complaisance, Agents.  And I have no tolerance for lazy officers."

Forster shuffled some papers on his desk and replied, "Now, if your main goal was to determine my reason for being here, then you have done so.  I'm a busy man; and if you'll excuse me, I have troops that need to be trained."

He escorted the pair out of the tent, then returned to his desk.  "That was singularly unrevealing," commented Bennet.

"Wait," Darcy cautioned, "he's hiding something beneath all of that 'Go Army' bravado."

"Where's the guard?" Bennet asked.  "You know, the one that wouldn't let us see the colonel?"

Darcy calmly trod around the tent and paused.  He motioned for Bennet to do the same.  Upon hearing nothing, he crossed to another tent and strained his ears to catch the muffled voices of two individuals. 

"Look, I don't care if Saunderson disappeared there.  You've been assigned guard duty to that sector tonight.  Really, Meyers, you are too superstitious by half," the voice of Lieutenant Reynolds chastised the other person.  "Saunderson probably just found a local girl and went AWOL with her. I pity the boy when he gets back.  Believe me, no one is worth a tongue-lashing from Forster. "

The person's reply was too muffled to overhear, but Darcy had the information he needed. "One more question, Colonel, if you please," Darcy requested as he ducked back into the officer's tent. 

The colonel looked irritated, but acquiesced.  "Who is Saunderson?"

The officer glowered and stated, "That private has gone AWOL.  When he gets back, he's going to wish he'd never stepped foot into this man's Army."

"When exactly did he go 'AWOL?'" Bennet interjected.

"The night before last."

She continued to pry him, "When were you planning on telling us when the private was missing?"

"That boy went AWOL I tell you!  He was not kidnapped like those others. This is an Army matter and it will stay an Army matter even if the JAG becomes involved.  There will never be a reason to involve you; therefore, you did not need to know.  Now, once again, if you will excuse me."

Darcy nodded and replied, "Thanks, Colonel.  That's all we needed to know."

 *      *      *
 

The Younge Residence 
Somewhere in Hertford County

"Yas'm, I'm Evelyn Younge's husband," answered a youngish man with carrot-red hair and a spattering of freckles across his face.  Bennet judged him to be no more than twenty.  Evelyn Younge was only 19 as she recalled. 

"Can you tell me about the last day you saw her?" Bennet asked flipping open a notebook. 

Darcy, for his part, wandered around the outside of the man's trailer home. The home itself was badly in need of repair. 

"Well, ma'am," Younge stammered, "I's already tol' the sheriff what I knows."

"It would help if you could go through it again--just in case you missed something that might be important," Bennet smiled.

Younge's ears blushed a deep red as he started retelling the events of last week.  "Well, um, that mornin' we got up an Evie--uh, that's what I call 'er--made us some breakfast.  I'm uh, sorry, ma'am, I don't 'member what it was."

Bennet smiled again, attempting to put the young man at ease and replied, "That's alright.  Go on."

"Well, afta breakfast, I gone out ta work on th' farm and, uh, Evie went inta town like normal.  You know, ta get groceries and stuff.  She, uh, normally stops by Jessie's Place.  Her best friend runs th' beauty shop. Evie likes ta git the gossip and come home an' tell me so's we was 'in the know' as she calls it."

"What time did she return, Mr. Younge?" this from Darcy who had returned to the dilapidated fence which halfheartedly attempted to guard the trailer.

"Well, sir.  I don't rightly know.  See, I was out on th' farm.  She was home when I came in for lunch.  That was around 12:30.  We et and she tol' me tha stories she heard.  Wasn't nothing much goin' on that day, though. I 'member she said she had to go back inta town fer some reason or another."

"Can you remember why she went back?" Bennet asked, her brow furrowed.

"Naw, she just said she had somethin' ta do," he paused and looked from Bennet to Darcy, his eyes pleading.  "You will find my wife, won't ya'?"

Bennet patted his arm and said, "We'll do our best.  Thank you for your time." The two agents headed back to the car.  Darcy opened the passenger door and glanced across the car's roof at Bennet.  "That's three.  They all disappeared into thin air."

"It still could be a serial kidnapper," she replied as she got in and started the car.

Darcy sat and strapped on his seatbelt.  "For what reason?  There's been no ransom note for any of the victims.  Not that any of the families could afford to pay a ransom.  None of them were particularly close to one another so your cult theory is out.  What else is there?  The possible and plausible aspects of my theory are now starting to coincide, Bennet."

Daylight had dimmed to a pinky twilight.  It had taken them an hour to get to the Younge residence using the unfamiliar back roads.  Bennet shifted in the driver's seat assuming a comfortable position.  "Tell me something, Darcy.  Why are you so determined that this is a series of alien abductions?"

"Bennet, we have no other possible solutions.  Hasn't your medical training told you that once you've ruled out likely situations, you must then consider the unlikely?  We have very quickly progressed to what you would term 'unlikely.'  Why do you refuse to acknowledge it?"

Twilight turned to darkness and she switched on the head lights.  The high beams forestalled the encroaching shadows.

"Why do I refuse to acknowledge it?  Simply because your explanation is so illogical that it defies all rational thought.  Why do you believe so passionately in the existence of extraterrestrials?"

Darcy was silent, his eyes narrowed as he watched the dashboard lights reflect off his partner's face.  "I'm sure you've heard the stories."

"The gossip, yes.  However, I've learned never to fully trust word of mouth."

"I assure you, all of the stories you've heard probably have more truth in them than you realize."  He lapsed into silence; his face softened as if remembering. Bennet glanced over at him, but maintained the quiet. He would tell her when he was ready.  She drove a few miles more before he spoke.

"My family has always been well-off.  Some might say, rich.  My father was a businessman and traveled quite a bit.  One night, when I was twelve and my sister, Georgiana, was eight, we were playing games in my room.  Mother had already gone to bed," he continued, his voice barely above a hoarse whisper, his eyes staring at some unseen point out the front windshield. "It was late.  We had just finished the last game; Georgie had won, by cheating." 

A ghost of a smile traced his lips at the memory. "She had just turned to look at the clock on the wall when this bright light filled the windows. She ran to the window, thinking our father had returned early.  I knew something was wrong, but I was paralyzed.  All I could do was watch her staring out the window.  Somehow, the light filled the room, but you didn't just see it--you FELT it."  Darcy's voice, filled with awe, faded.  "It surrounded her and pulsed with a life all its own.  She turned back to me; there was so much fear in her eyes.  She called to me, but I couldn't move. I tried to raise my hand," he gestured futilely as if trying to reach for his unseen sister, "but I couldn't help her.  The window shattered and the light focused into a beam.  It pulled her out of the room and then vanished.  As soon as the light disappeared, I shook myself, almost like I had just awoken from a dream, and raced to the window.  I yelled her name into the night, but she didn't answer me." 

He looked down at his hands blindly and said, "I gripped the glass so hard that I cut myself, but I didn't even feel it.  I just kept screaming Georgiana's name hoping she would answer me."  He shook his head. "I yelled so loud I woke my mother and the neighbors."  He lapsed into silence once more, remembering his mother's reaction when he told her Georgiana had been taken.

Bennet almost thought he had forgotten he was telling the story when he continued, "My father got back that morning.  My parents were devastated. I told them what had happened, but they didn't--couldn't--believe me. They said I made it up because I was in shock. They told the police that she had been kidnapped.  We spared no expense trying to locate her.  After a few weeks, the police said there was not enough evidence to continue to actively investigate.  My parents hired private detectives.....after a year or so, they said the trail had gotten too cold.  Suggested we try to get on with our lives, to try to heal."  He shook his head. 

"She was abducted, Bennet.  I know it.  I know it as surely as I know my own soul.  She's out there.  She has to be.  And anything that remotely connects to her abduction leads me one step closer to finding her."  He turned in the passenger seat to judge his partner's reaction.  "Do you understand now?"

She looked at him, her eyes wandering over his pain-etched features.  She nodded.  "I believe you."  Lost in thought, she turned her attention back to the road.  "Where do we go from here?"

He relaxed against the cushioned seat. "It could be dangerous.  I know someone in power is involved in this.  Bennet, I've accepted the risks..." He glanced at her; she turned her thoughtful gaze to his eyes.

"....and now, so have I," she finished for him.

*      *      *

Chapter Five
 

Betty and Tom's Country Inn Meryton

Bennet sat on her bed, phone at her ear, and listened to her younger sister rattle away about her latest boyfriend's actions.  The alarm clock's red digital numbers glowed a time of 9:25 pm.  Her suit jacket draped over a nearby chair.

"....so, Lizzy, what do you think?" Lydia asked.

Bennet blinked, jerking herself out of her reverie.  To own the truth, once Lydia had started her tirade, Bennet had tuned her out and thought about the case. "Well, ah, Liddy--" she paused, desperate for a suitable response.  "What about the other guy?"

"Who told you there was another guy?  Have you been talking to Mama?" Lydia whined.  "You can't trust anyone these days."

Bennet quirked an eyebrow upon hearing that statement.  "Uh, the other guy..."

"Well, let me just say that..."

And Bennet was safe to ignore her sister's voice once again.  A knock on the door interrupted the slightly annoying chatter.  She dropped the phone on the bed and moved to answer it.

"Hi, Darcy.  Come on in," she replied before turning back to the bed.

"Am I interrupting?" he asked.

"Oh, no."  She picked up the phone and held it to her ear.  Satisfied that her sister continued to chatter incessantly, she moved the phone to her chest and shrugged.  "My sister."

"Ah, the message from earlier," he looked pointedly at the phone.  "Aren't you going to speak with her?"

"Oh, it's not necessary.  Lydia seldom requires an answer.  She only needs a willing ear--and sometimes, not even that."  Bennet listened to the phone again, nodded her head, then her eyes returned to Darcy.  She focused on his face while considering her sister's words.  "Uh huh, but what about..."

She smiled and shook her head.  Again, she placed the phone to her chest. "Her latest escapades with boyfriend number umpteen and umpteen-plus-one."

"Two at once," Darcy smiled sardonically.  "I'm impressed."

"Don't be, she's had a lot of practice."  Bennet lifted the phone once more, frowned, and interrupted her sister's latest account.  "Yes, I understand.  It would be hard to choose between a medical student and a biker.  I know, the Harley is a definite inducement," she replied rolling her eyes.

Darcy's eyebrows shot up upon hearing this.  Bennet gave him a "Don't ask me" look.  "Well, Liddy, since Mama knows more about them than I do, why don't you call her and ask her opinion.  Yes, Liddy.  No, Liddy.  Liddy, I'm not going to do that."  Bennet took a deep breath, held it for a minute, then exhaled forcefully.  "Alright.  Alright.  Yes," she resigned, "I will.  Now, goodnight.  Okay?  Goodnight, Lydia."  She hung up and flung herself on the bed.  "WHY me?" she mumbled into the bedspread.

She felt the mattress dip as Darcy sat down on one corner.  "What did she want you to do?"

Bennet turned over and rolled her eyes at him.  "When I get home, she wants me to go out to lunch with her and each of the young men.  Then she wants my suggestion as to which one to date on a full-time basis."

Darcy's brow furrowed, "I would think you would want to meet both of the, uh, candidates."

"Well, it will all come to nothing.  I can tell you already exactly what's going to happen.  I'll go to lunch with them, tell Lydia--I am sure--to choose the medical student.  She will thank me profusely for my help and then do exactly as she pleases.  More than likely, she will pick the biker. Ah, the joys of having a 20 year old feather head for a sister," Bennet smiled, her dark eyes glittered with mirth. 

Darcy returned her smile.

"Oh, what did you want?"

He looked confused, then remembered the reason for his visit.  "The sheriff just called.  He's had some reports of a strange glow in a marsh area south of here.  He wondered if we would check it out with him."

"Marsh lights?" Bennet asked skeptically.  "Darcy, that's a fairly common occurrence.  It's due mainly to gases emanating from the swamp."

"Be that as it may, apparently the locals think this is a different breed of marsh lights," he replied grabbing the car keys from the table. Bennet grasped her jacket and resignedly trod after her partner.

***

Bergdorf's Swamp 
15 miles south of Meryton

"This is it, just up here," Sheriff Phillips directed.  Bennet shot Darcy a suspicious glance.  No light permeated the dense forest.  The car doors closed with a muffled thud.  Darcy clicked on his flashlight and panned the area. 

"Any ideas on where to start, Sheriff?" he asked, peering through the shadows.

"Over to the left, just beyond the far bank.  That's where they said they saw it."

The trio trod through the long, damp grass.  Bennet's heel caught in a tangled mass of vines.  Darcy, who was right behind her, stumbled into her. She motioned to her foot, indicating she was stuck.  He balanced her against his chest while she removed her shoe from the tangle.  Grasping her shoulders, Darcy leaned into her, his lips just grazing her ear, and whispered, "Next time, wear flats."

She shivered; unsure if the cause was the cool breeze or his warm breath. He dropped his hands and she proceeded into the darkness.  As they approached the swamp, Darcy switched off his flashlight.  The call of tree frogs filled the air.  Crickets sang as fireflies danced through the night sky.  The sheriff climbed the embankment behind the watery area and indicated that the agents should follow.    A faint glowing appeared in front of the small group.  The sheriff  hurried ahead of Darcy and Bennet.  As they neared the light, a faint humming sound filled the air.  The sheriff, by now, was quite a bit ahead of the agents. The pair slowed as they watched the glow surround the officer. 

"Darcy, I've got a bad feeling about this," Bennet cautioned softly. 

Sheriff Phillips called back to the two, "Isn't it beautiful?"  The lights swarmed around him now. 

 "Come closer!  I think its friendly!" he called.

Darcy cautiously approached the officer.  He watched as the man reached out his hands as if to grab the lights.  The light intensified around his arms until a petrified scream tore from Sheriff Phillips' throat. 

"Darcy!" Bennet cried.  Darcy had stopped, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the flailing figure.  For that matter, neither could Bennet.  At length, the pair saw the officer disappear right in front of them.  When nothing remained of Sheriff Phillips, the light slowly propelled itself toward the agents. "I think its time to say goodnight, Bennet," Darcy prodded as he turned to hasten their departure from the swamp. 

"I believe that's a good idea, Darcy," she responded.  The pair turned and ran back through the woods to the car.  As they fled, the light followed, gaining speed.  The agents hurled themselves into the car and watched as the light pulsed and tried to engulf it.  Darcy threw the vehicle into reverse and pealed away.  A few yards down the road, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. 

"Its retreating back into the glade," Bennet remarked. 

Darcy nodded his head. 

"What WAS that?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I for some reason, think we can rule out ordinary swamp gas."

"As well as aliens?" Bennet innocently asked.

Darcy's only response was merely to put the car in drive and move north toward Meryton. 
 
 

Chapter Six
 

F.B.I. Building 
Washington, D.C.

 Special Agent Edward Gardiner sat behind a lightly stained oak desk, his fingers steepled in front of him.  Bennet, seated in one of two wing chairs, finished her report to her superior. 

"As I wrote in my statement, sir, Agent Darcy freely admits to believing in extraterrestrials.  However, it's my opinion that he did not cross the line in this investigation.  He started and completed a very thorough search. Even though the outcome of the case is rather questionable, I openly admit that it  proceeded in an orderly manner."

"Do you know the history behind his sister's disappearance?" Gardiner questioned, his face impassive.

"Yes, sir.  He recounted the events to me during the investigation.  I'll allow that it is strange, but his manner and bearing leave me only thinking that he speaks the truth.  It is the truth in his own mind, if nothing else."

Gardiner nodded his head.  "Thank you for your time, Agent Bennet.  You may go now."

"Yes, sir," she rose from the chair, then paused, "Um, sir?"

"What is it?" Gardiner looked up from the papers on his desk.

"Am I still assigned to Agent Darcy?  The duration of this position was never fully explained."

"Yes, until further notice, you have been designated as partners.  And you will continue reporting to me upon the conclusion of each case," he answered, anticipating her next question.

Bennet nodded then left the room.  She took the stairs down two flights to the basement.  Walking to the third door on the left, she then paused.  The unmarked door was slightly ajar.  She pushed it open and saw Darcy filing a folder with a 'P' and case number boldly printed on the front into the cabinets behind his desk. 

He looked up, "Ah, Bennet, just the person I wanted to see.  How did your parent-teacher conference go?  After all, I am the wayward child you're trying to bring back into the F.B.I.'s fold, aren't I?"

She sighed, "Darcy, you know I'm only here as an unbiased party to help you with your investigations."

"Bennet, didn't you leave something out of that job description?" he disputed, raising his eyebrows with derision.  "You were sent here to debunk my work, or did I misunderstand something?" 

"Alright, officially, yes.  I was sent here to monitor your investigations and to show that your work is grounded in fiction.  However, considering what I saw, I do believe your work has a purpose--"

"Thank you; that's very gratifying to hear."

"--and that I have been assigned to you for more than superficial reasons." She paused, considering her next words.  "I believe someone wants you to find the truth.  I also believe that I was brought in to help you in your search.  To find irrefutable, scientific proof for your ambiguous, paranormal answers."

She paused again, awaiting his response.  He stared at her solemnly, offering no words of agreement or dispute.  His hooded gaze searched her face for any sign that she was lying.  At length, Darcy slowly nodded.  His mouth quirked, "Well, then, welcome to the home team."
 

Read Part II