CULT

"And from Twilight City; Stephen Jones: missing, Maria Cassidy: missing, Henry Philips: a runaway also missing, Katie Miller: missing, John O'Henry: yet another runaway also missing," growled Special agent Xigbar Adams, flinging the folder he was reading from onto the closest desk to him. The agents in the room flinched at the harsh slap it made against the wooden desk.

"How," Agent Adams shouted angrily at his team of agents; these supposed 'intelligent' people. "How," he repeated, "Did we not notice that all these people in our district just disappeared?! In the last month, twenty-two people went missing! Presumably to 'The Sun Children'," he jeered the name out as if it was particularly nasty curse. "Why didn't we know about this, huh? This 'Cult'," he said the word with air quotes, "is living in out in our back yard and yet we have no idea who's leading it, how many people are in it, or what its goal is!" Adams used his one eye to glare around at his agents, all of them looking sheepish, like school-children who dont particularly know the answer. "Well?!" Adams roared.

Agent Zexion Gray took a sip of whatever girlish coffee combination everyone was sure he drank before answering calmly. "Well first off, missing people isn't exactly our forte," he said cautiously, slowly. "It's the job of local police to handle missing persons. Since they saw no connection in the missing people it's near to impossible that we could have been aware of this." Zexion took another calm sip and followed up with, "Besides we don't know if all of those people have joined the Sun Children, they might have just runaway to another city or possibly be…" he paused, pursing his lips at the idea, "Murdered and the case hasn't been solved or been recognized. People go missing everyday but just because they go missing now shouldn't mean that they will automatically be found within the Sun Children."

Adams nodded his head, his anger now dissipated with other the agents participating and suggesting their theories. "That could be true, any other possibilities? Axel!"

Said man jumped to attention. With a slightly scared look he ran a hand through his bright red hair to quickly gather his thoughts about the information that Adams had told him and what Zexion just said. "Well, part of why we weren't aware could be that… no one had come forward with information." He slowly said, each word popping out as if unintended. Axel leaned forward on his cluttered desk to continue, becoming more animated as thoughts kept coming in. "Since there has been only one allegation, that we don't even know is true to begin with, we can assume that the…cult…could be a simple peaceful gathering of like minded individuals living together. If that's the case there is no reason for citizens to come forward about since the Sun Children are not bothering anyone or causing trouble for the city." Axel paused to take in the facial expression of his fellow agents and Commanding officer. Feeling no more anger in the air than normal he quickly ended, "That could be why weren't made aware, there was nothing to be made aware if."

"Every social group of 'like minded people'," immediately started agent Kairi Freah giving Axel a look of slight contempt, "Or rather a CULT should be immediately reported to the authorities."

Axel shot her a look, swiveling his chair to glare at her better. "I am aware of that; I was merely stating a possible reason as to why it was not." Kairi turned her own chair and set a hard look at her face. She was fully prepared to rebuke him when Zexion spoke up again.

"Well according to the statement from…" Zexion paused from flipping through several sheets of paper, an amused expression coming onto his face. "A Mr. Murkey." Axel and he shared a look and a stifled man-giggle. Kairi sunk in her chair and rolled her dark blue eyes, gently massaging her temples, extremely pained at this exchange. Hmpf. Boys.

Adams quickly slapped Axel behind the head. He fixed Zexion with a stern look that ended the laughter. Zexion cleared his throat and continued. "From his statement he made it sound as if the organization is very secretive…They only come out of confines to recruit. Even then, it's for two or three days, a few hours a day. It could be that the civilians really don't know about it." he proposed. "Murkey said that nearly everyone who approaches them joins. So no one is able to come forward." Zexion flipped through the papers again. Flip, flip. "He also said that," flip. "there was currant sexual abuse of its members." Zexion paused to look at the agent in charge. "But because it's only his word we do not know if it is true or not, if we can trust him." Zexion went back to looking at the papers. Finally, he threw them down with uncharacteristic rage. "And with his record…" he trailed off angrily, clearly upset that their only lead could be lying through his teeth.

"With his record of fraud and violence we can't simply just accept his allegation as truth. With just his word I don't believe we have grounds for a full investigation." Kairi amended, feeding of Zexion's frustration and adding it to her own. "We need evidence and Murkey can't give it to us. This could just be some fantastic hoax he made up."

"Except for the fact that he knows what he's talking about," Axel butted in. "There are too many details here and hardly any differentiation in his statements. The things he says fits in with accounts of cults. Ones that aren't on the television every night but hiding away in their little community." Axel himself flipped through a few pages of the report before becoming bored and fixing his commanding officer a look. "I'm very sure he is telling the truth. At least some part it, and even just one part of this is worth investigation," he said, twirling a pen in his fingers. "If we want to know what this…" he paused. "cult… Is about we can't just wait for more people to come forward. We need to get in there ourselves to decide whether this is a perfectly normal group of people…like…like hippies living in the forest or something." Adams scoffed and rolled his one eye making Axel grin. Xigbar thought he was on to he was against it Axel wouldn't still be talking. "Or if it's a dangerous organization endangering the lives of its followers." Axel stopped there, letting Xigbar take the floor. For a long while, he said nothing and simply stared at the pile of missing persons. Kairi and Zexion said nothing, preferring to let their leader decide for them.

Finally, Adams stepped back to grin savagely at his team. "That's a good idea you got there Axel. To go see for ourselves if this Murkey guy's story is indeed….murky." Adams let out a rough sounding smokers laugh. "Its seems we need an inside man."

"How do you suppose we do that?" questioned Kairi. "Murkey said that the cult is very picky in who they chose. We might not be able to infiltrate it."

"Or they might not be recruiting at all for awhile. We simply don't have enough information about their recruiting process." Zexion stated, downing the rest of his coffee cup.

"Oh but we will," mused Adams. "I believe this calls for our favorite little game called 'interrogation'." He said as he walked out of the briefing room. Axel shouted joyfully and pumped his arms in glee, nearly skipping after the special agent. Kairi rolled her eyes at his behavior, choosing to instead a lady-like departure after the two. Zexion stayed a moment longer, reading over the rantings of the ex-cult member John Murkey one more time. He sighed and eventually began his slow walk to the interrogation room, where they had made Murkey sit for over six hours. He was sure to be near the breaking point.

It ought to be good.

----

When Axel was a boy, he watched a movie that changed his life. He was eight years old at the time and was immediately fascinated by the 1963 movie From Russia With Love. He sat as close to the TV as his mother allowed and soaked up every witty line, gun fired, and babe wooed by Bond, James Bond. From that day on Axel knew what he wanted to be when he grew up.

A spy.

The very thought filled him with a fluttery feeling in his stomach. To be as smooth as James Bond. That was his dream. He desperately wanted to fly across the world, protecting beautiful women, obtaining priceless information, and beating up all the bad guys that got in his way. He desired to tell everyone that he was just an… an accountant or something, and leaving early from whatever family reunion he was at to go save the world, save them, from some evil dictator controlling a wealthy country that had nuclear warheads.

After finishing four years of college and following all the rules, he was recruited to a job extremely close to his dream. FBI agent. Now, his fascination with the high security job wasn't his only reason for desiring it. After years and years of research (television) he came to understand what the workers do for their country, how they protect it. Maybe it was some need to be masculine, to protect something, anything. He wanted to work for the people.

To make a difference in the world.

A small time James Bond, if you will.

Moreover, Axel liked it. He enjoyed the job immensely. His team was like having another brother and a sister, his boss more like another father. The job made him grow up. He knew how the world was now. How evil and corrupt it could be. And how beautiful it was. Axel just wanted to help his country out, in any way he could.

Like investigating dangerous cults. Axel and his two of his team members stood behind the one-way window. On the other side they watched Xigbar, calm and kept together, missing his savage smirk, question the man, Mr. Murkey (the thought still made Axel smile a little), about the cult. The calm questions running out of Adams mouth was making the man shake slightly. Adams didn't need his savagery on his face to intimidate the man.

He had scars on his face from battlefield and an eye patch from an incident several years ago when an enemy shot through a large window and a shard lodged itself in his eye. These scars were enough to give anyone the heebie jeebies and was enough to make retire from the field and take a desk job. This did not sit well with Xigbar Adams who pulled every string he had to get a job with as much legroom as he could get. Thus, he was made a special agent for the FBI looking over a team over three agents, all young, all impressionable and all extremely intelligent and clever as a fox. At least that's what Axel liked to think.

"One minute." Axel declared, handing over a five-dollar bill to Zexion. Kairi huffed and handed over a five herself.

"I'll give him six minutes. This guy survived a cult; he must be tougher than he looks." But she flinched and slumped in posture when Xigbar slapped down hard on the table and came very close to Murkey's face. The man was stone still as he listened to whatever Xigbar was whispering into his ear. "…Is it too late to change my mind?" Zexion fixed her a hard look.

"Definitely too late."

Axel cackled out loud, as Murkey began to talk a mile a minute, frantically spilling the beans. "Oh yeah! Hahahah! Boooya! Howabout them apples Kairi?"

"Axel wins." Zexion softly declred, handing over the ten dollars which the bright red-head pocketed with a wide grin. He cackled again at Kairi's expression as the 'cult survivor' began to slightly cry a little bit. Xigbar definately looked pleased with himself.

"You just have too much faith in the accused, Kai." She made a annoyed noise and once again rolled her eyes. "Such a drama queen too." Kairi scoffed and quickly slapped him behind the head. Axel cried out a little. "Oh, c'mon. I got bruises there now," he pouted.

"Stop whining, Axel. Adams' is done now." Axel tsked her leaving back and focused on Murkey.

"You think this guy is for real?" he asked Zexion. The slate-haired man moved to the window to watch Murkey, who was no longer crying but sitting very still gazing at the wall. "I mean, this kind of thing is usually made clear to us as soon as one pops up. I mean, we're the FBI," Axel insisted. "We would know about this kind of thing."

Zexion stood silent.

Axel continued nonetheless. "I want to believe he is lying. Is that weird?"

"You are extremely weird." Zexion stated bluntly, like saying the sky was blue or the grass green. Axel guffawed, scoffing laughter spilling from his mouth. Zexion joined in shortly before composing himself and slapping Axel over the head. "We are the FBI Axel. We do not doubt ourselves. We will know everything soon enough." Zexion walked away from the one-way window and out the observation door, calling behind him, "Come on, Axel. Adams is waiting. And Kairi's there, ass kissing. We have to be there before she gets all the good parts of the job." Axel ran up to join him and they both cracked jokes about Kairi as they walked the halls of the field office.

Axel could feel the nervous humming in his bones and gut. This would be his first undercover job.

Axel didn't know it yet, but it would also be his last.