This chapter is the additional setup chapter that is needed in order to establish the fundamental parts of the story. I highly recommend that you read the first chapter as well, but it is not necessary in order to understand this one. From this point on, the series will slowly become more heated, but I want to establish that at a pace and timing that makes sense. So sorry in advance to everyone that hates a slow burn.
Please feel free to leave comments below once you've read this chapter. I think feedback is really important and there's always something to be learned from a different perspective.
For thousands of years, Humans and Beings had lived alongside one another without ever knowing it. The Barrier, an invisible field of energy that kept their two worlds separate, wasn't discovered until 2038. It took nine years for both peoples to study and understand it well enough to traverse it. Then, inexplicably, on the same day at the exact same time, on March 20, 2047, both sent their own team of explorers though the barrier and into the unknown world.
Both were surprised to find a whole civilization waiting for them once they emerged. The initial exchanges were... awkward. The team of beings had, unfortunately, stepped out of the barrier and into kitchen of an elderly Hispanic woman. Who, once she recovered from her shock, became angry and proceeded to beat them with her slipper while cursing at them fluently in Spanish.
The human team fared little better, having stepped out of the barrier right in the middle of a rather large library that was, to their misfortune, very much in use. A small bipedal animal with a coat not that dissimilar to that of a racoon had let out a piercing shriek as the confused humans tried to raise their hand placatingly, which only scared the assembled crowd more and sent them running.
As first contact scenarios went, it wasn't great, but in the preceding days, both sides managed to navigate it without bloodshed. Funnily enough for the humans, the expected language barrier turned out to not be a problem as all. Their first exposure to magic came from a spell of transcommunication, which was cast on them by a quickly selected diplomat. From there, it was easy enough to proceed with introductions.
What developed over the following year was the slow build up relations and the sharing of knowledge. While neither side had wanted to assume that they would be dealing with a primitive civilization, both were shocked to find that their paths of technological evolution had run very similarly. There were a couple of major differences, such as types of fuel and methods of transportation, or manners of global communication, but most things ran along similar lines to what each already knew. It quickly became apparent to everyone that they had much to gain by cooperating. Magic and science fit together like pieces to a puzzle and both sides were eager to see what they could accomplish.
As beings and humans began to spend more time in contact with one another, limited mostly to diplomatic channels, certain mysteries about their respective worlds slowly began to unravel. The many myths and legends that lay in both of their histories soon became more fact that fiction. During this time, they also learned how to pass through the barrier more precisely, ensuring that they could enter and exit in specific locations.
As the human year neared its end, both parties met to discuss the implementation of a program that would slowly begin to foster mutual relations among the rest of their populations, outside of specific diplomatic channels. The idea that their two peoples could begin to live and work together was intriguing, and had already been gaining widespread interest. They all agreed that everything would need to be carefully regulated and that participants would need to be vetted. But after much discussion, and a lot of paperwork, the Species Integration Program was born.
It didn't take long for it to take off and it quickly grew in size. The home-stay system, whereby applicants could apply to either house or visit the opposite species, and in time gain the right to live there, became wildly popular. In a few short years, the site of humans and beings in opposite worlds went from being an incredibly rare sight to being comfortably uncommon. And though there was still a long way to go, the program was regarded as a resounding success.
But as with anything, where there is good the bad will follow. Out of necessity, an inter-barrier investigation and enforcement group, called the Transfer Protection Agency or TPA, was founded to combat a new wave of crime. While both governments worked tirelessly to control access to the barrier, it simply was not possible to catch everyone who wanted to sneak through. The result; the emergence of barrier gangs who sole goal was to kidnap beings or humans and hold them for ransom.
Sneaking through the barrier at random points was a risky business, since one would never know where they might end up, but it was a risk the gangs were willing to take. Their viciousness and tenacity rapidly became a problem for the fledgling TPA, who struggled in the initial months to become effective at stopping the new form of crime. They learned quickly though and armed with a blanket authorization from both governments to use whatever force necessary to recover kidnapping victims or investigate barrier crimes, they became a force to be feared.
It wasn't long before a high priority target list was established, mostly comprised of criminal elements that had been problematic before the discovery of the barrier. They had simply shifted their focus to something that promised to be more lucrative. Highest on that list were two names, one human and one being.
Dricus Aubert, a French mercenary turned high stakes kidnapper, had been the dark horse weapons supplier for most of the wars on earth for the last twenty years. He was a wanted mass murder, arsonist and drugs trafficker. Anyone who was anyone knew who he was, but his network of spies, saboteurs, and assassins made it difficult to get close to him. Dricus had a penchant for recruiting unassuming henchmen, the kinds of people you would never suspect could kill. So, when the chance came to make unbelievable money kidnapping humans and beings both for various clients, it was a no-brainer transition for the Frenchman.
Rasaq the Arachnid, the only name the beings had for him, was also at the top of the list. Bloodthirsty didn't even come close to being an accurate description. In the early days of the TPA, he had been solely responsible for more than fifty percent of their losses. He worked entirely alone and was never afraid to kill his unwitting victim if he thought a deal was about to go sour. Tracking him was next to impossible due to his skill in illusion magic and he never left witnesses alive.
It was the pursuit of Dricus that led the TPA to the Michael's doorstep. Their analysts, combing through endless amounts of field tips, searching for anything that might give them a clue to Dricus's whereabouts, hit upon a subject profile, along with a massive data file, uploaded by one of their field agents. A quick search led them to an unassuming human named Michael Esposito, 24 years old, tall build, brown hair and glasses, working as a data entry clerk for a small company in Montana. He had no known aliases, no known criminal background, and a record so clean it was almost suspicious.
A dive into the unencrypted parts of the file showed text communications between several unidentifiable numbers and Michael's phone. The evidence was beyond damning. The texts showed the methodical planning and execution of every kidnapping, murder and assassination that Dricus and his gang had committed in the last two years. But frustratingly, it lacked specific details about where high-level members were located or how to find them, or when the next kidnapping might happen. Information that could be contained in encrypted data, but would take time to decrypt.
As it was though, the TPA had more than enough to get the green light on a retrieve and interrogate operation. Within a few short days, a retrieval team, comprised of both beings and humans, was put together and on route to Michael's address. In no time at all the TPA's analysts gained access to everything that Michael had and learned everything there was to know about him. It had been surprisingly easy to hack into his accounts, as though he wasn't expecting anyone to come looking for him.
Tiriana Sylastra, the elf Chief of Station for the Helena, Montana TPA headquarters, stood in a half empty conference room leaning on an empty black rolling chair as she watched the drone feed of her team enroute to the targets house. Joining her were her two best analysts, an attaché from the Whitehouse, one of the U.S based being representatives, and her tactical advisor. The tension in the warmly lit room was palpable, this was the best lead they'd had in months and they could ill afford to let it slip through their fingers.
As she monitored her team, she fought to shake her usual feelings of doubt about the operation. This happened every time she sent agents out into the field; what if the lead they had was wrong? Was she sending them into a trap? Was there something that would tip off their target that they were coming? But years of operational success and discipline from her training helped quell those fears. She trusted her men to get the job done on the ground and she trusted that the information that they were acting on had been rigorously vetted and was accurate. There was simply nothing else she could do.
"Target in site."
