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Report No: GT/WT-160909-022240905

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina

Agents:

• Cortez
• Drummond
• McCarter
• Monroe

Summary:

Agents pursued leads connected to the investigation of Kerry Houghton’s killers, directing them to King Torino’s Children’s Refuge in Charlotte, North Carolina. While interviewing former Cornucopia House resident Nika Chilikov, the agents encountered a suspect matching prior descriptions and faced an immediate threat when a large bear breached the property’s perimeter.

Operation Report:

• The agents departed for Charlotte, North Carolina, to investigate Elle Gable’s history at King Torino’s Children’s Refuge and to follow up on leads related to Kerry Houghton’s murder.
• During the drive, Agent Monroe reflected on the death of Elle Gable, recalling her final expression and questioning previous actions regarding Franklin Price. He contemplated the necessity of eliminating Price to conclude unresolved matters.
• Upon arrival at the refuge, the agents noted the three-story home appeared dilapidated yet operational. Children’s voices were audible from the backyard, indicating outdoor activities.
• Agent Cortez observed a partially concealed red sedan parked off the road near the refuge. Investigating the vehicle, he identified it as Kerry Houghton’s car, recently used and containing fresh fast-food receipts. He retrieved the keys and returned to inform the team.
• The agents approached the refuge entrance and were met by staff member Rayleigh May, who directed them to Dr. Bailey, the supervising psychologist. Dr. Bailey initially declined to provide information on Elle Gable due to confidentiality policies.
• After persistent dialogue, Dr. Bailey consented to allow the agents to speak with Nika Chilikov, a former resident now employed at the refuge.
• Agent Cortez alerted the team to the discovery of Houghton’s car, raising concerns about an immediate threat. The agents advised Dr. Bailey to account for all staff members and considered the safety of the children.
• Agents McCarter and Drummond began a perimeter sweep of the property to identify any signs of forced entry or suspicious activity.
• Agents Cortez and Monroe remained with Nika to gather information. Nika disclosed her past association with the “quiet ones,” a group of children from Cornucopia House who communicated through silence and shared a mysterious bond.
• She revealed that Elle Gable had previously attacked her and that other children from Cornucopia House, including Conrad Hopko and Jennifer Wills, had been at the refuge but left under various circumstances.
• Nika expressed concern that members of the “quiet ones” might be nearby, hinting at their animosity toward her for abandoning their shared silence.
• While conversing, Agents Cortez and Monroe observed a thin white male matching the suspect’s description cutting through the property’s chain-link fence with bolt cutters. Upon being spotted, the suspect emitted a loud yell and fled back through the breach.
• Immediately following the suspect’s retreat, a large black bear entered the property through the damaged fence, advancing toward the children playing in the yard.
• Agent Cortez drew his weapon and moved forward to engage the threat, while Agent Monroe alerted Nika to guide the children to safety. Nika began directing the children toward the refuge.
• Agents McCarter and Drummond, hearing the commotion and shouts from their colleagues, commenced a rapid return from their perimeter sweep to assist.

Analysis and Recommendations:

• The proximity of Kerry Houghton’s car suggests that the suspects are actively pursuing individuals linked to Cornucopia House. Their presence at the refuge indicates a potential escalation in their actions.
• The coordinated timing of the suspect’s appearance and the bear’s entry implies possible unnatural abilities, such as manipulation of wildlife or summoning entities, requiring agents to prepare for non-conventional threats.
• Nika Chilikov possesses valuable firsthand knowledge about the “quiet ones” and their behaviors. Her insights could be crucial for understanding the suspects’ motives and methods. It is recommended to ensure her protection and consider debriefing her in a secure environment.
• The agents should exercise caution when engaging with the suspects, considering their potential to influence or control environmental elements. Enhanced tactical support and specialized equipment may be necessary.
• Agent Monroe’s fixation on unresolved aspects of previous encounters, specifically regarding Franklin Price, may indicate psychological stress or potential compromise. Monitoring his mental state is advisable to maintain operational integrity.
• Recommend increasing surveillance on other former Cornucopia House residents and associates to prevent further incidents. A thorough review of historical records related to the “quiet ones” could uncover patterns or predict future actions.
• Collaboration with local wildlife authorities might be beneficial to account for any unexplained animal behavior in the area, which could be linked to the suspects’ activities.

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Session Notes

• The agents of Working Group MASTICATE are driving south in a black Chevy Tahoe with government plates to follow up on leads related to the murder of Kerry Houghton. Monroe is driving, Cortez is in the passenger seat, and Drummond and McCarter are in the back.
• During the long drive, the agents are mostly silent. McCarter is attempting to distract himself by paging through an academic tome on international relations theory, while Cortez is dozing off in the passenger seat. Drummond is surfing the web and reading about the upcoming 2016 election on his phone.
• As Monroe drives, he repeatedly revisits the final moments of shooting Elle Gable. With a critical success on a HUMINT check, he realizes that Gable was not happy for herself when he killed her, but rather was experiencing a selfless joy, as if she was happy for Monroe.
• Monroe also experiences a fleeting moment of panic, feeling like he left something undone by not killing Franklin Price, the elderly dementia patient that Gable seemed intent on murdering before the agents intervened.
• The agents discuss their reasons for going to the King Torino Children’s Refuge in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Elle Gable had been. They want to investigate if any other children from the refuge are connected to the mysterious man they encountered.
• Cortez has brought along the Hello Kitty folder and Kalamatiano’s spellbook notes in his laptop bag for the trip.
• The agents arrive in Charlotte in the evening, and Drummond decides to room with Monroe to keep an eye on him, as he notices Monroe seeming distracted and unresponsive during the drive. Drummond is concerned about Monroe’s mental state after the confrontation with Gable.
• Drummond and Monroe discuss the confrontation with Elle Gable and the necessity of shooting her when she was about to commit violence, despite wishing they could have talked to her first.
• Monroe expresses concern about McCarter and the ritual book he possesses. Drummond and Monroe agree the book should not exist as it is a temptation that can unnaturally influence people.
• Drummond brings up the possibility that McCarter may have already erased their minds without them knowing. Monroe doubts McCarter could mind-wipe all of them simultaneously and says the team would need to take “appropriate corrective action” if that happened.
• They discuss how many times someone would need to be mind-wiped before showing ill effects. Price showed signs after being wiped repeatedly, but Carrie Houghton’s symptoms are unknown since they never met her. Monroe speculates the number of times she was wiped could match her number of visits to Cornucopia House.
• Monroe acknowledges Elle Gable was likely a victim herself, infected by the evil at Cornucopia House. However, he believes she and the other children are now beyond saving, even if that means losing the chance to learn more information from them.
• Drummond, after hours of driving and reflection, entertains the idea that maybe they shouldn’t condemn the children, as they were unfortunately influenced by the monster there. However, Monroe insists they will need to be “put down” as he doesn’t believe the evil can be extracted from them at this point.
• Meanwhile, Cortez and McCarter discuss McCarter’s fate now that he used the ritual. Cortez implies in the old days, McCarter wouldn’t have come back from his last mission. McCarter accepts this, hoping to at least keep going on missions until then.
• McCarter, having reached a new breaking point, loses his motivation to “understand the other” and now just wants to kill the other two kids without asking more questions. Cortez agrees, saying the kids wouldn’t want to live anyway after what they did.
• McCarter gains the Sleep Disorder as a result of hitting the breaking point. He will need to make a SAN check to fall asleep.
• Monroe and Cortez wake up exhausted after a restless night, losing 1d6 willpower. Monroe loses 2 willpower, bringing him down to 5. The agents are afflicted by exhaustion, which imposes a -10 penalty to all checks.
• The agents drive to the King Torino Children’s Refuge, a run-down three-story house in a secluded suburb of Charlotte. They hear children playing in the back.
• A woman in her late 30s, Rayleigh May, answers the door. Drummond introduces himself as Alistair Whitehead from the Department of Justice and asks to speak about former resident Elle Gable. May says they need to speak with the supervising psychologist, Dr. Bailey, and asks them to wait outside.
• While waiting, Cortez and Monroe notice a suspicious car parked in the underbrush off the road, hundreds of feet away. Cortez walks closer to investigate.
• Dr. Bailey, an African-American woman around 50, comes to the door. Drummond explains they are investigating the murder of Kathy Houghton and Elle Gable is a person of interest. Dr. Bailey asks if they have a warrant.
• The agents discuss HIPAA and whether it applies to deceased individuals. Dr. Bailey refuses to discuss any patients without a warrant.
• Monroe shows Dr. Bailey a news article on his phone about Elle Gable’s death. He tries to persuade her to cooperate, but fails even with a -30 penalty.
• Drummond names the four children sent to King Torino from Cornucopia House: Elle Gable, Conrad Hopko, Jennifer Wills, and Nika Chilikov. He accuses Maryland CPS and King Torino of failing these children, leading to Gable murdering someone.
• Drummond tries to persuade Dr. Bailey (+25) to cooperate to avoid tarnishing their reputation. She reveals that Nika Chilikov works at King Torino and agrees to let them question her about her personal experiences.
• Cortez discovers a red sedan parked off the road in a heavily wooded area near the house. It is registered to Kerry Houghton and has Maryland plates.
• The car appears to have been recently driven, with junk food wrappers and a receipt from earlier that morning at around 5am. Cortez takes the keys from the ignition.
• Cortez returns to the house and informs the others that the suspect’s vehicle (Houghton’s stolen car) is parked nearby. He shows photos of the suspects to Dr. Bailey, but she does not recognize them.
• Concerned about the safety of the children, Drummond suggests having some agents go around back with Dr. Bailey to secure the children outside while they investigate inside the house.
• It is established that of the four children sent to this facility, only Elle Gable is suspected to be one of the three attackers, along with Perez and possibly Sam Ball.
• Dr. Bailey confirms that no one currently working at the facility was there back in 2001 when the children first arrived.
• As there is no side gate, Dr. Bailey leads Drummond and McCarter through the house to the back. The rear of the property is a well-kept lawn sloping downward, surrounded by a tall, sturdy chain link fence and dense forest.
• Various playground equipment is scattered in the yard, and children of different ages from 4-5 up to possibly 12 are playing outside.
• A young woman named Nika is sitting on a bench at the top of the hill near the house, watching over the children.
• The agents are outside at a children’s refuge with Dr. Nika, a 22-year-old woman who came to the refuge from Cornucopia House as a child. She seems nervous and withdrawn around the agents.
• Drummond scans the area for the suspicious man they saw earlier while the others watch the door, but they do not see him.
• The doctor suggests bringing the children inside, but the agents object, not wanting to have a shootout with children caught in the crossfire. They decide to clear the house first.
• Monroe stays with Nika while Drummond and McCarter do a perimeter check of the house. Cortez also stays with Monroe and Nika.
• Monroe questions Nika about Officer Price and Elle Gable. Nika says she doesn’t know Price but remembers Gable as one of the children she came to the refuge with from Cornucopia House.
• Nika reveals there were four of them who came together, but the others left after about a week. She has a light Ukrainian accent.
• Nika describes how at Cornucopia House, you were either one of the “quiet children” or you spoke - there was no middle ground. She tried to be one of them to not be alone, but they rejected her when they realized she was different.
• Nika suffered greatly at Cornucopia House and has blocked out many of the painful memories. She says people came and “stopped the bad people there” and then she came to the refuge.
• Nika says if one of the “quiet children” is nearby, there’s nothing they can do - “they are part of the world like we aren’t” and what they need to happen unfolds around them. She estimates there were maybe 10 or more “quiet children.”
• Nika was able to break away from the “quiet children” with the help of a psychologist, Dr. Sarah Bryce, after coming to the refuge at age 7. She was traumatized and violent but Bryce helped her recover. Her story is used to solicit donations for the refuge.
• Nika reveals that Elle stabbed her in the head with scissors before being sent away the next day, because the “quiet children” saw Nika as a traitor for learning to talk. Jennifer, another one of them, ran away later.
• Nika does not know anyone named Thomas or Samuel. She says she was never a threat to the “quiet children” but they think she’s a traitor.
• The agents are talking to Nika, who has opened up to them and shared information that sounds crazy, but she doesn’t seem worried that they won’t believe her.
• Nika’s demeanor suggests she either doesn’t care if they believe her or thinks they will understand. She has adapted to helplessness.
• As they are talking, Cortez and Monroe spot a thin white man with a large tattoo on his arm pushing through the fence at the back of the property using bolt cutters.
• The man, who matches the description of one of their suspects, looks confused and disoriented as he enters the yard.
• Monroe tells the kids to get inside and tries to duck out of sight to make a phone call, while Cortez draws his gun.
• Cortez yells at the man to “Drop them!” loudly, hoping the other agents will hear. The man yelps and crouches, charging back out through the fence.
• Cortez starts running down the hill after the man, with Monroe following, gun in one hand and phone in the other.
• Nika starts yelling for the kids to come her way. Some of the kids are scattered in the yard, between the agents and the back fence.
• Suddenly, a large black bear charges through the fence into the yard, roaring. Cortez stops running when he sees the bear.
• Monroe and Cortez, both armed with pistols, have a split second to react. Their experience with violence allows them to overcome the terror of facing the bear.
• Monroe realizes that while Nika doesn’t care if she dies, she does care about protecting the kids, some of whom are now between the agents and the charging bear.
• Meanwhile, McCarter and Drummond have just finished checking the perimeter of the house and hear the yelling from the back yard, unaware of the unfolding chaos.

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