Case Number 713 (Prequel)

Edmund was a young man of nearly 19 years of age. Although young in years he was old in experience. Wise and hurt beyond his age. Shaped to fill the purpose, to fit the mould.

He was walking across the car park towards the elevator, heading home after another long day at work.

Barely an hour ago he was washing blood of his hands, and now he was about to spend a chill evening with his flatmates who were also his friends and colleagues.

It was a while ago that he realised that he was not to have a normal life. This arrangement worked for them. That was the only way they could at least have a glimpse of normality.

He opened the door to their apartment and took his jacket off hanging it on the hook by the door.

"Hey, just a heads ups, we have a new kid coming soon." Eliza, a slim woman that was barely a year and a bit older than him, told Edmund as soon as he walked into the apartment. She was preparing dinner in the kitchen which was opposite of the entrance.

Their apartment was on the third floor, and it was large.

It had one kitchen, open floor living room and dining room. Then the apartment separated into two corridors, with two larger bedrooms on one end, and four smaller ones on the other. Each room was en-suite, and it was well equipped with wardrobes, shelves, desk, and beds. The larger bedrooms also had sofas and coffee tables making them almost completely self-contained.

"A new kid?" Edmund raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah. She's younger than usual." Eliza furrowed her brows in thought. Edmund wasn't sure whether it was because of the news or whether it was because she was trying to decipher the recipe she was using.

"I didn't hear any mention of anyone new joining our team."

"We didn't get the usual warning. I was only told this morning."

"Who told you?"

"Greg."

"When is she arriving?"

"Apparently she's being moved from another department."

"Do you know why?"

"I'm afraid not." Eliza shook her head. Her brown hair swung around her head.

"Have you seen her?"

"Not yet."

"How do you know that she's younger then?"

"I've been warned by Greg."

"She must be underaged then." Edmund hid his disapproval of the agency on this matter and grabbed himself a drink from the fridge. She wouldn't have been the first one to join before turning 18. Probably not the last one. But there was a shift nowadays. Possibly a fear of scandal if it were to come to light, of public were to find out.

"I thought that you were the only spectacular one to join the agency before you turned 18?" Eliza asked with a teasing voice.

Frank walked through the main entrance giving the two people in the kitchen a nod. He was the eldest of them and definitely more serious but also laid back. He was currently attending a lot of training in the hospital to pick up some medical skills. If he tried, he could easily become a doctor. Maybe agency would allow it. It would be beneficial to have a doctor at a scene at any given time. Any injury could be attended to almost immediately. A risk of loss of life would be significantly reduced. They all had some level of medical training that was beyond the first aid training, but Frank had a knack for it.

"Did you hear anything about the new kid?" Edmund asked him straight away. To his surprise, a smile flashed through Frank's face. He definitely did.

"What new kid?" He asked as if he tried to fool them. He might've fooled Eliza who's as good busy with cooking to notice. Besides, Eliza's speciality was mostly in tech. She was good at using technology to their advantage. To track people. To find dodgy transactions. To check someone's online activity. Or even to track them using the GPS data from their phones. She could do it all.

"There's someone new joining us." Eliza explained. "I've prepped her bedroom opposite yours." She directed the latter sentence to Frank.

"Why?" Frank furrowed his brows.

"Because I couldn't be asked to move anyone about, especially as we've been warned that she will be here soon."

"So, the new kid gets the biggest room?" Edmund asked lifting his brows.

"Why not?" Eliza shrugged, starting to plate the food that she just finished cooking.

Frank and Edmund were both keen to grab their plates and rush to the dining area, without dwelling on the subject any more.

Instead they spoke of the recent missions and tasks before sitting in front of the tv to watch some show that none of them were particularly interested in but which provided a mind-numbing distraction.

The next morning they all sat down to breakfast together, including the last two of the team who came back late from their mission the night before: Anthony and Kirsten, also known as Tony and Kirsty.

They were exactly same age, they've trained in the same academy, and they got along very well, hence they often worked together.

"I wanted to share some news." Eliza spoke to Tony and Kirsty more so than to Edmund and Frank.

They were all very young, Edmund was the youngest at not much over 18 years old. Frank was the eldest, at 22 years old. If anyone saw them now, they'd think that they're uni students, not criminal fighting agents. "We will be having another person joining our team. She should be here soon, within days. Greg asked us to look after her and to give her a warm welcome."

"Any ideas who it might be?" Kirsty was the one to show the most interest.

"I don't know much. It's a girl. She's VERY young, but I don't know her age. Greg did emphasise that though. She is moving from another department and she will be coming within the next few days. I was only informed of it yesterday."

"It's odd. We were warned that Frank will be joining several weeks in advance." Anthony noted.

"Indeed. A few days warning seems odd. I guess it wasn't planned until recently." Kirsty agreed with Anthony.

They were all friends, but they had an unspoken relationships and partnerships. Anthony and Kirsten worked the best together. They almost always agreed with each other and worked on the same wavelength. Eliza frequently worked with Frank but not nearly as much as the other two.

Edmund mostly worked alone. It was because of their working styles and types of cases they took on.

Albeit, Edmund had the most versatile skills within the group, although he wouldn't beat Eliza in her tech knowledge or Frank in his medical skills, he was not much short on those either.

"Greg's emphasis on her age is raising some red flags for me." Eliza mentioned as she studied her boiled egg to work out the best way of peeling it. "How young can she be?"

The rest nodded in silent agreement. Perhaps they all knew where this was going already.

They soon dropped the subject, rushing to clean after their breakfast and make their way into the office. It was about forty minute walk away from their apartment so on the good day they've walked together.

The office was really a very tall, almost a skyscraper, building. It didn't look suspicious from outside aside of being a very clearly a government type of a building with flags proudly hang on the outside. Many people in suits were rushing in with their suitcases - analysts who never went out in a field but who managed to spot the tiniest discrepancies. And managers and leaders and secretaries and archivists and all sorts of specialists.

Their office was on eleventh floor. It was their floor. They had a large open office with their desks and stacks upon stacks of papers and files and their research. But what was different about them was that they took on unsolvable cases and solved them. They run them from the file and minuscule evidence all the way to imprisonment of the criminal. They dealt with a desk and a field job. And as much as they looked like young adults, they all had concealed guns clipped to their belts under jackets, coats and oversized jumpers.

As they arrived, Greg called them into the meeting. He was a middle aged man with stunning amount of experience. He mostly delegated and managed the work but even then, when need arose, he was still fit enough to go into the field. He had his first silver hair but also the energy of the youngster when he got excited or interested in something.

He was their role-model and a father-figure.

Ah, yeah, it is worth probably mentioning that agency picked only orphans for this. No human attachment outside of the agency was another attribute of the 'Specials'.

With hesitation, they walked down the corridor with Greg walking in front of them. He was the first one to step into the meeting room.

"We have a case." Greg said as Edmund took the step into the room. Edmund's gaze fell onto a young girl who was sat at the end of the long table, scanning through the file in front of her. She didn't pay much, if any, attention to them as she read through the file with upmost attention.

She had soft features, hazel brown eyes, and light blonde hair tied into a long ponytail. She wore a simple black vest top and a leather jacket over it. She was a child.

Unconsciously, Edmund straight away assumed her to be someone irrelevant. Maybe a distant relative of Greg. It didn't even cross his mind that she might be someone else. She was too young.

"What case?" Anthony asked from behind Edmund, nudging him to move quicker. As they all entered the room, they all looked curiously at the girl.

Frank was the last one to walk in. "Isabelle!" He exclaimed happily.

He knew her. Somehow he already knew her.

"Hi, Frank." Girl looked up at him, not reciprocating the smile. Her face was serious.

"We have a serial killer who is very keen on arson." Greg continued as if the group wasn't more curious about the Frank-Isabelle interaction than the new case.

"Arson isn't usually used to kill." Anthony was probably the only one who tried to focus on the case more than Isabelle.

"It is quite rare. As an example, Bruce Lee claimed that his arson kills were merely accidents. He never considered the potential fatalities when starting his fires, of course, besides a single family that he wanted a revenge on." Isabelle spoke. Her voice was soft, quiet, youthful. "The difference between serial killer and arsonist is that the kills using fire are usually impersonal and arsonists tend to be more impulsive. I'm guessing that there's a reason why you consider them to be a serial killer." Isabelle looked up at Greg.

"All of the burns and victims seem to match. There's at least five families across the county that burnt."

"All the victims seem to be a specific type too." Isabelle noted.

"But, why fire?" Kirsty asked.

"Fire destroys evidence. It destroys M.O." Isabelle was quick to point out.

"You've said that they have a specific victim type." Greg gave Isabelle a curious look.

"All of the victims are young couples. Newly married couples. Their weddings were within three months before the fire. My question would be, is it a serial killer turned arsonist, or arsonist turned serial killer?"

"Does it matter?" Anthony asked Isabelle in a challenging tone. He didn't like that she led the conversation. It was their team and their job.

"Possibly. Looking at the Macdonald triad, there are usually two out of three factors found in most, if not all, serial killers. In their history, they usually have shown signs of violence, often by harming animals, setting fires, and interestingly - bed wetting. An arsonist might not have more than one factor present in their past, and they've escalated to murders by either coincidence, or stressor. Whereas, serial killer turned arsonist might have changed their M.O. Former might already have a record or history that is traceable, the latter might be harder to track." Isabelle looked at Anthony as if she was explaining something obvious.

"Why would a serial killer change their M.O.?"

"Improving their skill? Confusing us? Fires tend to be quite efficient. There's not much to clean up afterwards. There are too many reasons. But, they are impersonal." Isabelle's brows knitted as she was in deep thought, looking back down at the file in front of her. "Most serial killers like the proximity hence they do not choose fire too often. However, the fires can be used to cause panic and terror within the community. It might be more of a spree killer than a serial killer."

"That's a reasonable suggestion." Greg agreed. "Isabelle, wanna check out the crime scene?"

"Yes, sir." Isabelle stood up, tidying up the file into a folder.

"It's Greg." Greg smiled warmly at her, like a father would.

"Understood." Isabelle nodded.

"Report your findings as soon as."

"Of course." Isabelle left.

"Eliza, check out the emergency calls report to the fire department. Kirsty and Tony, interview the firefighters that first arrived at the scene. Edmund, try to find the link between victims. Frank, check autopsy reports." Greg quickly gave out his orders. "I'll have a deeper look in the databases to see if there are any other similar instances." He looked up at the people sitting in front of him, looking at him quizzically - besides Frank. "What's the problem?"

"Who was she?" Eliza was the first to ask.

"What do you mean?" Greg furrowed his brows. "I gave you heads ups."

"Is that the new kid?" Eliza continued.

"Shouldn't you know that already?" Greg asked but silence was an answer. "She arrived yesterday."

"What?" They've asked in unison.

"You didn't meet her yet?" Greg asked in confusion.

"Well, no. Even though it does seem that Frank knows her." Eliza noted at which everyone looked at Frank.

"She's your new colleague. I expect you to treat her well, regardless of anything." Greg said rather sternly.

"How old is she?!" Eliza showed concern.

"She's sixteen." Frank answered her question before Greg did.

"Sixteen?!" Eliza exclaimed in shock.

"Believe me when I tell you that she ain't no kid." Frank said with a smile.

"How do you know?"

"I've trained with her. I've seen her in action."

"But, you've been with us for couple of months now. When did you train with her?"

"Before joining you. She joined the agency when she turned 15. She went through the most rigorous training. She's like a machine. I believe that she was put into high-risk infiltration missions when I was send here."

"You're right." Greg confirmed. "That's where she came from."

"Why was she moved here?"

"Our workload is increasing and she was the highest performing candidate in the agency. The only reason that she didn't join earlier was because of her age and background. It took a while to get her through all of the clearance."

"Why?"

"It's irrelevant. Now go!" Greg ordered and the rest unwillingly left the room.

A few hours later they were back in the office, in one of the bigger meeting rooms, with notes spread across the whiteboard with squiggles all over.

"So, we narrowed down our search to five suspects." Greg said to the group as he walked in with Isabelle beside him.

"Already?" Kirsty, Anthony and Eliza asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Isabelle eliminated the remaining 153 candidates. Now, we can request search warrants and search their properties whilst we interrogate them. I'm going to split you into two groups." Greg announced. "Isabelle, Edmund, and Frank, you will be interrogating the suspects. Kirsty, Eliza, and Tony, you will be making the searches." Greg turned towards Isabelle. "Edmund, Isabelle, you'll be handling two profiles each. Hope that's okay with you, Isa?"

"Perfect." Isabelle agreed without hesitation, quickly collecting the files for each of her two suspects and disappearing out of the room.

"Aren't you putting too much pressure on her?" Eliza asked Greg with worry. She was definitely the caring one on the team. She was like their older sister, keeping them all under her wings - besides Frank.

"I can bet you that she will be done with those two suspects by the time I am done with mine." Frank spoke with a smile.

"Yeah, sure." Edmund laughed. "Like myself?"

"She'll be done before you. I can assure you of that." Frank answered confidently.

"Impossible." Tony chimed in.

"I can bet you a hundred?"

"Deal." Tony shook on it.

The group split up and Frank with Edmund walked down towards the interrogations rooms where Isabelle was already settled in front of her first suspect.

After less than half an hour, Greg pulled out Edmund and Frank out of their interrogations.

"We know it's the guy with Isabelle." Greg announced. "She's doing okay so far but we need a clear confession."

"Shall I go in?" Edmund offered.

"Not yet. Let's watch for now." Greg decided as they moved into a back hallway which had a one way mirror set to the interrogation rooms.

Edmund flinched when Isabelle mentioned a suspected accomplice in her interrogation. It was a risky move but she seemed confident. She didn't show the tiniest bit of discomfort or stress.

Maybe her age helped. The suspect considered her inept and wasn't very careful.

Her gamble paid off as he didn't like the accomplice to be given credit for his work, letting on much more than he intended.

Maybe it was pure luck, maybe it was her skill. It was too early for Edmund to tell.

Isabelle walked out with pile of papers in her hand once the confession was sufficient and soon the suspect was handcuffed and taken away.

"Isabelle, can I have a chat with you in my office?" Greg asked as the remaining team was readying to leave. Isabelle nodded and obediently followed him down the corridor.

Edmund looked behind her, trying to spot anything that could give him clues about her.

The rest of the group has left, Kirsty and Tony went somewhere for dinner, and Frank, Eliza, and Edmund went back to the apartment.

"That was a tiring day." Eliza flopped on a sofa with a sigh.

"It was. But I think it was the fastest we've ever solved a case of this type." Frank flopped onto the armchair.

"Yeah." Eliza agreed.

"Have you found anything on the new girl?" Edmund looked at Eliza curiously.

"No. Nothing. Her files are absolutely sealed."

Eliza confirmed. "I didn't have any deep dig around, but from a quick scan through there's nothing. And I really mean nothing. It's more than unusually empty." Eliza sighed. "There's only her name and employee number. All of our staff profiles have our date and place of birth, recruitment date, our training specifications and results, as well as a record of transfers." Eliza started explaining. "And on her profile there's literally just her name and staff ID number. Isabelle Matthews. Her ID number is 12713 if you're interested."

"Frank, you don't seem surprised." Edmund turned to Frank

"Isabelle has always been a bit of a character. No one really knows where she came from. All we knew was that she was good. Beyond good. I went out on a few missions with her and she was incredible."

"Incredible? In what way?"

"It's hard to put a finger on it. She has incredible combat skills, negotiation, tactics. I would lie if I've said that I've ever seen anyone quite like her."

"Frank sounds as if he had a bit of a crush." Eliza laughed.

"You'll see for yourself." Frank shrugged.

"We're the team of the best. You really think she'd impress us that easily?" Eliza looked over at him.

"Maybe."