July 3rd, 2021

0900 hours

"This is awkward as hell." Garcia grumbled, tucking his elbows in to avoid brushing against Barnes' side. They were once again crammed into the small operations office, awaiting an important update from the FBI unit.

Of course, the pompous leader always seemed to have urgent information to glean upon the rest of the group. At this point, Garcia was getting accustomed to Quinn's egotistical attitude, though he still harbored mild resentment towards the holier than thou attitude.

So, Garcia and the rest found themselves shoved together like sardines in the stifling, cramped room. It made the lieutenant cranky.

"Get over it, Lieutenant." Quinn spoke shortly, quicker to raise a temper than usual. He frowned and folded his arms in agitation, glaring pointedly at the officer. "This is the largest space we could find."

Garcia chortled and glared back evenly, holding his ground. "I meant the way you two are tiptoeing around one another." He gestured to Robyn, who was staring unabashedly at the handsome FBI agent. She blushed and quickly averted her gaze.

Garcia saw a hint of something flash in Quinn's eyes, and could have sworn a pink tint flushed the agent's face.

The two had been avoiding each other the past five minutes while they waited for everyone to arrive. Garcia, having been the first to show up, stood in uncomfortable silence while the couple traded longing looks, staring at each other in turn. It felt like he was back on the playground in grade school while adolescent crushes awkwardly courted during recess.

"Leave them alone, Garcia." Shepp groaned, rubbing his sleep addled eyes with a large hand.

"He's got a point, though." Barnes piped up, voice right in Garcia's ear. "They're acting strange."

"Shut up, Barnes." Garcia grumbled, turning to the deputy and almost head butting him from how close they were.

"No, I think Garcia is right." Quinn's stare bore hotly into Robyn's eyes. Garcia rolled his eyes, realization dawning in his mind. "It would behoove us to clear the air."

"I get it." Garcia laughed gravely, overcome with amusement. "You two bumped uglies."

"What?" Robyn gasped, palming her further reddening cheeks, burying her face in her hands. Garcia heard Barnes stifle a childish snort.

"I'll have to correct your statement, Garcia." Quinn's lips twitched as he stifled a laugh. "Dr. Bourke any myself have not, as you said, 'bumped uglies'".

A cacophony of embarrassed groans and protests filled the small room.

"Please stop, Quinn." Robyn begged, ducking behind Gordon's large frame.

Garcia grimaced. "I didn't need to know any of that."

"I have no intention to stop, Robyn." Quinn was smiling now, gaze fixed determinedly on her retreating form as he ignored Garcia's comment. "When this is over, I fully intend to talk about that ki-."

"You have to bring that up now?" She interrupted, crossing her arms as she peered around Gordon's shoulder.

Quinn's eyes twinkled with mirth. "Should we play this childish game a bit longer, or shall I just get it out in the open?"

"Neither." Robyn growled, face positively scarlet.

Garcia thought he was going to puke. "Great. Interesting as this is, I'd rather talk about the investigation, since you have summoned us here at this ungodly hour."

"Right." Quinn continued smiling. "Well, if Miss Bourke intends to hide behind Gordon, I will do the honors."

Garcia watched as he flipped through a file with long, deft fingers. Grasping a page, he held it up for the group to see.

"That's the drawing you showed us before." Garcia snapped, agitated that he'd woken just to see it again. It unnerved him, though he couldn't figure out why. He didn't really believe all the hokum they'd spouted before about an extinct creature wreaking havoc and running, or swimming, amok.

In his experience, mysteries could always be explained by simple human behavior, and this just didn't fit the bill.

"Yes, it is." Quinn frowned, glaring daggers at the cop. "Can I continue, or is it inconvenient for you?"

"By all means, go on," Garcia snapped back sarcastically. "I haven't had enough of this freak show."

Quinn ignored him, lifting the paper higher so everyone could see clearly. "This is the drawing Vince gave us." He crossed the few feet of free space and dislodged Robyn from her hiding place behind Gordon, dragging her into the center of the tightly packed group.

"Please, Miss Bourke."

Garcia watched the color drain from the biologist's face, her skin pale right down to her lips.

"I saw it." She whispered, but her tone was resolute.

Garcia laughed: he couldn't help it. The whole situation was ridiculous.

"You saw what?" He gasped between wheezing guffaws of laughter.

Robyn frowned, clearly irritated with his reaction. "The creature." She hissed, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"I'm being punked."

"I can assure you, Lieutenant, I don't participate in such childish behavior." The defense came from Quinn, who was now glaring angrily at the officer.

"Look, guys. I agree something fishy is going on around here, but I'll be damned if you're going to convince me it's a fucking loch ness monster that's been terrorizing this rig."

"I don't know what you believe, Garcia, and frankly, I don't give a damn." Quinn's voice was harsh. "This is the truth."

Garcia's eyes bugged, anger tensing his neck muscles, and he refrained himself from decking the condescending agent. "I can't believe this shit. I'm out of here."

He detangled himself from the warm bodies around him and attempted to slither past Robyn to the door, but the firm, warm grip of a small hand on his arm stopped him. A murmur of discord grew amongst the other members, whispers of disbelief equal to his own emerging from all sides.

"Garcia, please," Robyn begged as she tugged on his arm, eyes wide with fright "I have proof."

He paused, sighing, his weary eyes meeting her lucid blue ones. The intensity of the emotions he saw shocked him. Fear, desperation and confusion whirled in them like a pool of disaster. It unnerved him, and his skin crawled from the overwhelming doom that trickled over him like rain.

"What proof?" He managed, dread coursing through him. Once again, he regretted eating before he arrived.

"This." Robyn held up a shaky hand, holding her cell phone out for him to see.

Garcia quit breathing for a second, heart nearly stopping in his chest. Something large, scaly and definitely monstrous was displayed on the screen.

He rubbed his eyes, blinking, and looked again, nose almost pressed on the device.

"What the holy fuck?" His breath left him in a rush, heart squeezing like a vice was pressing in on it's chambers.

"What, indeed." Quinn spoke, causing Garcia to jump. The agent seemed amused.

"Where did you get that?" Garcia laughed nervously, sure his leg was being pulled.

"I snuck into a secret room here last night." Robyn folded her arms around her protectively.

"Impressive." Gordon smiled softly at her, earning a quick glare from Quinn. Garcia rolled his eyes.

"I saw it. It's real." Robyn stammered slightly, limbs shivering from nerves as she brandished the photo at the lieutenant again.

"That-that's not possible." Garcia's eyes widened and he backed up quickly, attempting to put distance between himself and the photo. In his panic, he accidentally trod on Barnes' feet, eliciting a displeased hiss from the deputy.

"Damn, Garcia." He swore, wincing in pain. "Watch where you're jumping."

"You'd jump too." Garcia growled, pointing wildly toward the phone. "Go look for yourself."

"You're overreacting, Sir." Barnes grinned, easing forward, shoving Garcia into Shepp. Both shot him an agitated glare. Garcia watched as the deputy focused on the screen. The blood ran from his face, leaving his freckles a stark contrast on his paling skin.

He sputtered, arms limp by his sides, unable to form words.

"See?" Garcia mumbled, squinting at the photo again. "Jumpy now, are we?"

Robyn held up the phone, turning it so each person could get a better look. Barnes stood in place, mouth still gaping soundlessly.

"Holy shit." Shepp breathed, features drawing into a hard silhouette.

"Oh my god." Gordon rasped; disbelief evident on his otherwise statuesque bone structure.

"What the hell is that thing?" Garcia wondered aloud, more to himself than anything.

"I told you before. You didn't believe me." Robyn frowned, tucking the phone back into her pocket. Garcia noticed Quinn's gaze lingered a little too long on the woman's backside. He grinned.

"Distracted by something, agent?" Garcia baited, eager to direct his nervous energy elsewhere.

Quinn quirked a brow and slowly raised his darkened eyes to meet Garcia's. "Never. I'm rather excellent at multi-tasking." His eyes darted right back to Robyn's form as she stretched.

"So, is that the party line you're going with when you're buried deep in that a-"

"Enough!" A bellowing boom burst from Robyn's throat, chest heaving with frustration. "Quit this pissing contest and focus!"

The men in the room shirked: it was a mark of how terrifying the normally gentle woman was, to have a room full of burly law enforcement under her thumb. The testosterone level exceeded estrogen five to one, but she was by far the scariest person in the office.

"If we could all forget the fact that Quinn slept with me last night-"

"You did what?" Shepp growled at Quinn in a protective manner that Garcia thought was rather off.

"No, that's not what I meant." Robyn flushed, sputtering.

Quinn was entirely serious as he uttered "It was extremely pleasurable."

"Quinn! You're not helping!" Robyn shrieked, blush creeping further down her neck.

"We just slept." Quinn's lips quirked up, clearly put on by the reaction from the audience.

Garcia sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "I don't give a rat's ass what you two do together, as long as I don't hear about it."

"Then why did you bring it up, Garcia?" Robyn hissed, pulling herself up to stare him down.

"Everyone, do shut your traps." Quinn spoke, clearly exasperated. "We're getting off course."

Shepp spoke up from his corner, voice muffled from the closeness of the bodies in the room. "I think we're all deflecting our fears. Pull it back in, guys."

"Right." Garcia spoke first, followed by an accord amongst the others. "So, let's say I believe this," his mind whirring with the possibility that everything he knew was wrong, "what do we do about it?"

"That depends on what Lynne Ellis is doing hiding such a creature on her oil rig." Robyn answered, beating Quinn to the punch. They exchanged a knowing look, and Garcia doubted they were being entirely forthcoming with their intel.

Garcia frowned; brain overwhelmed as he sifted through information related to the case. "What does she need that damn abomination for anyway? How did she find it?"

"What I'm confused about," Gordon mused, brows knit tightly together "is how it got out, and how Ellis got it back into that tank."

"How is it reproducing?" Shepp queried. "If there's just the one, how can it physically do that?"

"Well," Robyn began thoughtfully, tapping her lip. She noticed Quinn seemed a little too interested in the gesture and deceased the motion, cheeks lighting up with embarrassment. Her own lips still remembered the feel of his firm, silky ones, how they fit perfectly-

"Robyn?" Garcia's voice interrupted her intimate reverie, which now involved a rather naked Quinn and a set of silk sheets.

"Hmm," she cleared her throat, covering up the pause with a forced cough "as I was saying, certain Amphibians have been documented to acquire asexual abilities when there's a lack of the opposite sex in the population."

"Can you say that again, in plain English, please?" Garcia grunted, staring at her dumbly.

"Frogs." She responded slowly, brow quirking in agitation. "Sometimes they change sex to reproduce with themselves."

"Well, that takes the fun out of everything." Garcia chortled, weathered mouth twisting in a churlish grin. "And I hate to break it to you, sweetheart," he noticed Quinn's jaw ticked at the term of endearment, and he grinned churlishly "but these aren't frogs. We don't know what the hell they are."

"That's not entirely true," Robyn began, but was rudely interrupted.

"Asexual or not," Quinn pointed to the large stack of files that tottered on the small desk "the answer to our questions can be found in these."

"What are those?" Garcia eased toward the top one and thumbed through it. The report was old, decades old, it seemed. He'd never seen such soiled looking files.

"This," Quinn paused for effect, spreading the stack out on the tabletop "is the key to solving this mystery. Everyone take a file."

Garcia chuckled, sarcastically scooping his arm up in a victory punch. "Right, Scooby and gang. Let's look for clues!"

The room was dead silent as everyone stared. "You can start with that one, Lieutenant." Quinn ordered, scowling as he passed them out.

"What? You don't want to be Velma?" Garcia gestured toward Robyn, who shot him an insolent glare, eyes rolling with such force he thought they'd fly right out of her head.

"Come on, we all know who Fred is...no? Hmm-" Garcia grumbled as Gordon elbowed him in the ribs, and he slowly leaned against the wall, begrudgingly tucking into the file. "Tough crowd."

Five sets of irate, squinted eyes glared back at him disapprovingly.

"Fine," He said, shrugging unapologetically "so I don't moonlight as a stand up comedian. Sue me."