Upstate New York, USA:

Dr. Walter Rivers had retired early on the night of October 15 1943, the long drive from the city to his little house on the hill was tiring to say the least. He had not been home that entire day and so he had missed the mid-days delivery of his mail, retrieving it from the mailbox Walter slapped it down on the kitchen coffee table without glancing at the address of its place of origin - Germany!

That morning as he stumbled his way into the kitchen for a well deserved cup of coffee, Walter with his eyes still partially shut grabbed the letter from off the table and haphazardly tore the envelope nearly in half; which also damaged its contents considerably. The outside of the envelope indicated the letters origins, after seeing the address Walter was shocked by the dubious delivery. The strange message having come from war torn Germany was surprising beyond belief, no doubt it had been sent by some official of the Third Reich, for this was the only way that such a note would be allowed to traverse the Atlantic. This was no doubt the work of several people, of definate high rank. The contents of the letter was even more astounding then its queer origins.

October 15, 1943

Abegail walked quickly down the halls. Her arms were full of books and her briefcase was in her hand. The halls were empty. At this time of night Abegail was sure the campus was empty.

Abegail awkwardly opened the door to her office. She dropped the books on her desk and tossed the briefcase on her chair.

"I need a bevvie", she thought. She scowled a the cold up of coffee on her desk. When did she put that there? This morning, after her first lecture. Had it really been that long of day?

Abegail sighed and opened her lower drawer. She looked over and kicked her office door closed. Placing the briefcase on the floor, she reached into the drawer with the other hand. Scotch, her guilty pleasure. A good one too.

She poured a healthy two fingers into a semi clean glass and sat back in her chair. If she didn't have to deal with all these students it would be so much better.

Opening the book on the top of the pile she started to read. Abegail sipped her scotch as she poured over the text.

So many theories on the myth of the Holy Grail. So many versions, so many people searching for it. Whole organizations who make it their lifes mission to protect or look for the Grail.

"Bloody over romanticized it what it is", Abegail scowled at the book. The latest version of King Arthur and his quest for the grail. Nothing factual, all drivel.

She downed the rest of her glass and opened the next book. It was going to be a long night.

Walter stumbled out of his house only a few minutes after reading the letter, having been stunned at first into complete catatonia. Hoping that someone would be at the university this early on a Saturday, not wanting to explain himself to anyone due to his rushed state of mind. To his disappointment no one was inside the building when he arrived, at least no one within ear shot of the sound of Walter pounding the front glass door. Not sure how to proceed he thought for a second and then cursed his stupidity, he had a key after all. Frantically he worked on the door with his key, but he was a little excited and nervous and so it was difficult, finally he turned the key properly and the lock clicked into its unlocked position within the door frame. Rushing through the halls of Marshall college Walter slowed his hastened pace as he approached Abegail's classroom, he knew all too well that she would often spend the entire night pouring over those books which fed her insatiable appetite for knowledge concerning the holy grail legend. Walter was discovered by Abegail as he attempted to quickly pass her classroom door, she had apparently left the door ajar, he had avoided Abegail successfully on numerous occasions and so it was quite a shock to discover that he had failed at this most crucial of moments. Quickly dashing his hand with letter in tow behind his back Walter addressed Abegail, "Gale, oh sorry Abby, nice to see you" Dropping the letter behind him Walter took off down the hallway to his own classroom. Abegail was a notorious Ms Busybody and Walter didn't wanted to share credit for the discovery of the item mentioned in the letter.

Abegail wiped her face with her hand and looked at the clock.

"Damn stupid of me," she chastised herself. Another night spent in her office. She really should stop doing that. Standing she opened her door and checked the halls. She nodded as she saw no one.

She grabbed an extra set of clothes out of her desk drawer. "Getting low, should go home and do laundry." she said out loud. She wouldn't. She'd drop her clothes at a cleaners and buy a few new sets. She'd forget to pick up the clean clothes until they had left half a dozen messages for her. Then she'd haphazardly fold them and toss them in the drawer. It was just the way it went.

She stood, clothes in hand and was about to step out of her door.
Abegail jumped slightly. Footsteps. She stepped out and almost into Walter.

Walter was quickly trying to pass her door.
"Gale, oh sorry Abby, nice to see you." Abegail bristled at the name, happy he corrected himself. Her face turned slightly red. She smiled through clenched teeth.

"Nice to see you too. It's a little early for ye." She was obviously tired. Abegail shook her head. Didn't matter what she did to smooth it out, the accent always popped up.

Abegail raised an eyebrow. Walter was acting weird. Like he was hiding something. He walked off quickly. He was holding something. Now, her curiousity was peaked.

She walked the opposite direction to the bathroom. She quickly changed into fresh clothes, washed her face and used her stashed toothbrush to clean her teeth. Brushing her hair, she decided coffee was in order. Perhaps she'd bring some to Walter. Maybe get a chance to find out what brought him in so early.

She picked up a tray with two coffees, along with cream and sugar. Abegail walked past her room and headed to Walter's.

She knocked with her foot, opening the door as she did so.

"Walter, thought you could use some coffee. Seeing as you are in here so early and all." Abegail stepped inside the room.

Walter quickly pushed the letter in his hand in between the desk and himself so that Abagail could not see it, after a brief moment of awkward silence he stumbled, "Hi...Um...you" quickly regaining verbal composure he continued, "Thank you, Id love some coffee right now." Walter stayed seated as Abagail leaned forward and placed the cup of coffee on the very edge of Walter's desk, just out of his reach. Walter sensed that this was a ploy to trick him into revealing that he had a letter in his hand, so he dropped the letter on the floor before leaning toward the steaming cup of java before him. He grabbed his coffee and then sat back down in his chair, he then immediately continued his search for the passport he had apparently misplaced. All during this frantic search he continued and rather mundane conversation with Abagail, about the weather and such. Walter was distracted enough that by the time he had gotten up from his desk to make his way toward the door, he had completely forgotten about the letter which was still on the floor. With slight rudeness he quickly left the room, "See you later, Um. Got things to do" he said as he passed Abagail and made his way toward the main school exit down the hall. He would not be leaving for a few days, and so when he excused himself (rather poorly) from Abagail's presence he was not not lying, there was much to do before he could make the trip to England, and ultimately to Germany.

Abegail attempted to keep the conversation going.

Walter kept things very surface and trivial.
"He is acting odder than normal. What is he looking for?" Abegail smiled politely as she watched Walter falter through the conversation while attemptly to look for something while not looking for something.

She shook her head slightly as she watched him.

Suddenly, he got up and headed out of the room, "See you later, Um. Got things to do"

Mildly shocked Abby stood there. She watched him leave.

"Alright then...what are you hiding." She closed his door, leaving it opened enough that she would hear footsteps.

Abegail placed her cup of coffee down and starting looking around on his desk.
"What would have him so distracted?" she pondered as she rifled through his papers.

She was met with typical notes for class, piles of essays to be marked and phone messages.

Abegail huffed. She picked up her cup, knocking some notes on the floor. She reached to pick them up and that is when she spotted it. There on the floor.

Abegail picked up the paper and scanned it quickly. She gasped slightly, looked around and headed out the door.

She walked hurriedly to her office where she could take in the contents of the letter better.

Abegail closed her door. She locked it, hoping anyone looking for her would think she was not in. She put her cup down on her desk and sat in her chair.

Abegail began to read the paper in her hands.

letter:

Dear Ms. Abegail McHugh

My name is Rudolf Von Scott, you may remember me from the my lecture series that you attended in Switzerland last year. This is an urgent plea for your assistance and your knowledge. It seems as though a team of archaeologists from Zurich have discovered a most interesting papyrus documnet somewhere along the German-Austrian boarder, near the village of Rhenstal. I cannot go into much detail as my letters are no doubt being monitored by the SS, but I can say that the document concerns a certain BLACK STONE......

Come quickly.

Abegail read the letter for a third time. It just wasn't settling in.

"This has to be a joke. No, it can't be. No one would joke about something like that. What if...no war was going on why would she be asked to come over seas unless..." Abby's mind reeled.

The BlackStone. it was so rarely mentioned. Everyone thought the grail was a cup. But a few, obscure texts referenced a stone.

Abegail stood and then she sat. She stood again. Her mind was rushing with a list of what she needed to do. She had to go. Abegail couldn't get her head around the things she needed to do.

"Focus Abby, my girl..." She heard her Da's voice in her head. Abegail let out a breath.

Alright, she was going. She couldn't turn this down. Too much of a mystery, too much to research to ignore it.

"Okay, first things first. Off to ask for leave, then laundry, then get my ticket, arrange a place to stay and pack." Abby rattled off the list out loud.

They'd give her the time off, she never took a day off. She'd say it was for important research. It wasn't a lie. She didn't have to tell them why or where she was going. She could lie and say family emergency. That would bring fewer questions.

Abby unlocked her door, tucked the letter into her bra and she headed off to the main offices. That was what she'd tell them, family emergency.

No wonder Walter was so out of sorts. This letter, the implications. This was dangerous and important.

Abegail walked at a brisk pace to the offices, passing students who were arriving and heading to their classes. She'd have acted the same way if she hadn't locked herself in the office. She wouldn't have wanted anyone reading her letter.

"Wait...." Abegail stopped. Her letter, what was he doing with a letter addressed to her? Now she was focused on going and she wanted answers from Walter. Dean first, Walter second. He owed her some answers.

She headed off again, lost in her anger and thoughts she wasn't aware of her surroundings. That was until she walked right into Walter.

Looking up, "Oh excuse me, I wasn't...." She blinked. "Walter, bloody hell....why don't ye watch out!" Her anger flashed but she attempted to keep it under control. There were too many people around to get into this now.

Walter sensed her anger, but before she could burst out against him he informed her, "Found my letter I see? Did you notice the envelope? Look closely and you'll see that your address has been blotted out and mine has been placed over its vestiges." Walter looked down at his shoes dreading that he would have to tell her what he himself had only recently reasoned out, looking up he continued, "This is not a letter from Professor Scott! It is from our colleague professor Henry Jones, at least the envelope is. I do believe Indy is in some sort of trouble. You remember a few months ago when he left for Germany to find his father? Well he actually did mange to save him from the Nazi's but then on their trip back home Indiana disappeared, his father returned but in a critical state and had to be hospitalized. I know that you and he had some sort of a relationship, at least that's what the rumors circulating around Marshall professed. I only meant to spare you some....Well that's the whole of it." After a sigh of relief Walter added, "Obviously Indy altered the envelope so that it would arrive in my mailbox rather then yours, guess he figured that if he couldn't stop the letter from coming he would at least make sure you never saw it. He had already told me to never rush off on some fool rescue mission if I should ever receive a letter such as this one, for he would never ask that of someone else. I'm guessing that perhaps who ever sent it was hoping to lure you to Germany, I hate to even ponder the reasoning behind it, certainly no good would come of it." Walter's shoulders dropped, finally the secret was out, no more stress.

Abegail stood there, her anger building.

She heard but didn't quite hear what Walter was telling her. Indy? She hadn't thought of him. She bit her lip, that was a lie.

She shook her head. She clenched her hands, nails digging into them, enough to bring tears.

Abegail clenched her jaw, through her teeth, "Walter, this....ye bloody bastard. Do you not realize what this is? How dare ye hide it from me. Were ye planning to go? And not tell me? To what protect me from some danger? How bloody, stupidly noble of ye."

Abegail took a breath, the accent was going to make it hard for him to understand her if she didn't calm down some.

"I canna let you just go off without me, take the glory for the research. No. Bogs to the bloody rumours, what we did or didna have between us is not of your concern. Ye spare me nothin' by keepin' it from me." She sighed, attempting to calm.

Abegail raised her chin and cleared her throat, "Walter, I am going. What Indy wanted or didn't want..." She shook her head. "This is too important. You know that."

Abegail started to move past Walter, her goal again the main office.

"Gutsy Broad" Walter murmured to himself in an affectionate tone as he walked on after her. Catching up to her brisk movements across the lawn on the north side of the college, putting on his old cowboy styled hat which he could always be found clutching in his left hand, he turned his head toward Abagail as they walked, he lit up yet another cigarette, "I might not be as charming as Indiana, but Ill have to do" he said with a slight smile. "We are about to embark on an extremely dangerous mission. Have no reservations concerning the odds of our success, as they are stacked up against us." Abagail pulled the letter out of its rather odd hiding place and handed it back to Walter. An exhale of smoke and a deep inhale of the crisp Autumn air, "Damn Nazi's" Walter said as he dropped the ominous letter to the ground, landing Swastika symbol face down in the muddy puddle, a fitting place for it no doubt.

Abegail walked and Walter caught up and kept pace with her.

"Indy's charm has nothing to do with this. We? Am I to understand the you wish to go with me? Or are you thinking that you will accompany me to protect me? Or take credit for the research yourself?"

She started up the steps to the main office. Her anger bubbling to the surface again, "Understand me, I am not a wee babe in need of protecting. I go for the research, not for Indy." Again, partly a lie. Her heart had been racing ever since Walter said no one knew where he was. Not because she loved him, she didn't do that but he was a friend and colleague.

Abegail smiled as she stood on the stairs, "Aye Walter, it is dangerous and exciting. Who knows what awaits us."

With that she turned and headed inside. She made herself known at the Dean's office and got into his office. She went in and explained that there was a family emergency and that she was leaving for an indeterminate amount of time. Abegail told him that her assistant's could take care of her classes until she returned.

"If Abby...if you return," flashed in her mind.

The dean agreed, likely because the look on her face told him that she would not take no for an answer.

Turning on her heel, she felt the excitement ripple through her body. Excitement and fear. She knew she was going someplace very dangerous. Not only was she a single woman, not a nurse and with no way to justify her being there but they were heading into an area under Nazi control. And they were looking into something that is not supposed to exist. She'd have to stay on her toes.

"One problem at a time Abby, do ye self no good worrying about all that now." She was talking to herself in an effort to make herself believe that was in fact the case.

Abegail exited the building and went to find Walter. "Might as well make travel plans together." She thought.

"Got permission to go? I already had a nice long conversation with good ol' dean Haley earlier this morning, woke him from a sound sleep, he was not pleased." Luckily I was already on my way away from this town when I received the letter." Walter who was already waiting for Abagail, propped up against the small concrete wall to the left of the door leading to the deans office. Walter continued, "You know I meant nothing about what I said, I know your no shrinking Violet, Indy would never be interested in such a woman, nor do did I mean to suggest anything torrid going on between you two. But Abagail I have to be honest with you, we are in very real danger, I don't mean Nazi's either." Abagail turned to Walter and saw the legitimate look of concern on his face, not just for her life but for them both. "I already knew about the document." Walter said in a quiet ominous manner, raising his voice a bit higher, "Have you ever heard of the Thule-Gesellschaft?" Abagail turned her head toward Walter with a look of semi-familiarity upon her face. "I don't now if you heard anything about my interests outside the world of academia, of course its not something I have tried hard to deny or keep secret. This is not to be taken lightly, we battle not the brutality of man, nor tanks, heavy artillery, or a German luger pointed in our face. What we seek, has never been sought, at least not by any sane man, for no sane man would have any use of this thing that we search for."

Abegail turned to see Walter waiting for her. He was leaning against the building.

"I did get permission but I didn't give the man a choice. Told him it was a family emergency."

Abby's face soften, she was no longer angry at him.

"I know you did not mean anything by it. I just...I hate being treated with kid gloves. Indy and I...it was nothing. He is my friend. I have a great deal of respect for him. His interest in me, well that is his interest." Abegail shrugged slightly.

She looked at him as he talked of his worry and of the other aspects of his work. Abegail knew he worked with the occult. She didn't keep tabs, unsure how deep he delved into it but she knew he and Indy had things in common.

The fear began to creep up her spine again. She trembled slightly but did her best to hide it.

As he finished, she swallowed hard.
Abegail tried to laugh, "It's a good thing no one has ever considered me sane then."

Abegail did her best to keep the tremble out of her voice, "Walter, I need to do this. I need to know. I...I have no idea what I am up against or what will meet me when we do this but I need to do it. I am happy to have you as company."

She lifted her chin, then slumped her shoulders as her bravery was betraying her. Her voice soft and quiet, "I need a drink, will you join me? We can discuss more, someplace quieter. We have plans to make."

She walked slowly across the campus back towards her office. Her hands in front of her, she was doing the best to bolster herself. She could do this, she had to. This was important. Ghost stories would not scare her. She'd heard loads of them on her mother's knee.

Walter walked with her.

She opened her door and made a beeline to the desk. She opened the drawer and pulled out the bottle. She poured a glass for Walter and one for herself.

Abegail drank hers quickly, one gulp and poured herself another.

"Alright, I think you need to give me an idea of what I am in for. I will bring my research but there are obviously things I do not know." She sat on her desk, ignoring the papers. She gestured to the chair offering it to him.

She sat legs crossed, glass in her hand. She sipped as she waited for him to sit.

Walter looked down at the glass, then in a smooth motion picked it up from the desk, with the drink in hand he took the seat that had been offered to him by Abagail. Walter sat with his legs spread wide, one elbow resting on his left leg and raising the glass to his mouth with the other. Not being much of a snifter it took a small swallow or two to completely empty the glass of its contents, placing the spent glass on the edge of the desk he took in some air in preparation for the odd tale he was about to weave. "You Abagail are one of the leading authorities on the legend of the so-called holy grail, but what I have to tell you has never been revealed before in any academic source, being handed down by word of mouth for generation after generation, and then only to those initiated into certain dark occult orders. The true grail is not a chalice, it is a rock, as you are aware, but it is an extremely unusual specimen. It Bleeds."

Walter took a quick glance at the empty glass upon the desk and wished it was full at that moment, he would need it now, he continued, "Now when I say it bleeds I don't mean to suggest that it pours forth plasma, animal or otherwise. The 'blood' is produced by the various oxides of which the stone is largely comprised, it in fact consists of several minerals of extraterrestrial origin, for this rock comes from the deepest reaches of space and many of the elements are totally unknown here on earth. It also has some very paculiar properties, heavy stable elements which could conceivably be used in the manufacturing of atomic weapons."

Walter stopped for a brief moment to allow Abagail to take it all in, though he had yet to touch upon the must disturbing part of his tale. "What we are dealing with here is a piece of a meteorite, there are also indications that it was not only a small sample of a much larger specimen but that this larger mass was actually hollow. We have never been able to confirm this obviously as the rest of the meteor has been lost for hundreds of years, assuming that a significant portion of it had survived entry into our atmosphere. I shutter to even contemplate what could have been encased within the meteor." Verbally spent Walter's head dipped down toward the floor of Abagail's office.

Abegail watched him empty the glass. She was getting nervous now.

"Bleeds? Is he bloody loonie?" Abegail kept the thought to herself as he continued.
Walter glanced at his empty glass and then continued on.

He continued on with his tale and Abegail listened, taking it in and attempting to process what he was telling her.

Walter dropped his head. Abegail reached over and grabbed the bottle of scotch. She poured him another glass. The bottle was almost empty. Good thing she had another in her drawer, they were going to need it.

"Alright, I knew the grail was not going to be some fantastic golden chalice but you expect me to believe it is a piece of a meteorite? Of unknown elements, fine. One for the geologists then. Now I have two things to ask. One it's from a larger piece that was hollow? And you don't know what was in it? Two, how in the world do you know this is the grail. I mean I heard the obscure tales of a stone being the grail but nothing ever stated why they thought that."

Abegail downed her glass, placing it heavily on the desk.

"Wait now, I have another question. These documents turned up along the German border, they supposedly tell where the stone is or the larger piece it came from?"

She rubbed her face with both hands. Sighing slightly, she folded her hands in her lap. She should have been taking notes, she knew that, but her hands weren't steady enough to hold the pen.

They were talking on going on hunt for a stone, supposedly the grail, or at least documents that might lead them to it. Abegail was always up for a grail hunt. But with the war going on, with other orginizations after things like this, it made it more dangerous and more deadly. Some of the grail hunters she'd encounter were not quite sane. Dealing with Germany was going to add a whole new level.

Walter lifted his cowboy styled hat off his head and scratch his scalp and then replace the hat, "Well as to your first inquiry, I can't really tell you why we believe it is a stone, that's just how the tale has come down to us. Myths are often based on some sort of fact, its just that its not always the facts that one is expecting. I can only tell you that I have had contact with someone from France who assures me that this is so, in fact it is rumored that one such stone is in the possession of some Dukes wife, or something to that effect. However there are some doubts as to the validity of this claim. And once again, about it being hollow, that's just how it has come to us, I have no inkling of why it has been told in this manner, nor am I certain myself that this is true" Walter grabbed the freshly poured glass of scotch and with one big gulp he consumed it, the liquid rushed down his throat, coughing slightly and quite comically, "Very smooth" he managed to get out before continuing. "What I am about to tell you now is merely legend, understand? ....The hollow meteor is said to have housed the living soul of Lucifer himself."

Abegail nodded as he explained that most of what he knew was tales. She was used to that. The grail itself is a legend, nothing to factually back it up. She knew that and had heard stories of it since she was just little.

She bit her lip in an effort to stop from laughing as he coughed.

She poured the last of the scotch into both their glasses and tossed the bottle at the garbage can. She missed and it rattled noisily and hit the ground as if to emphasize his statement.

"The hollow meteor is said to have housed the living soul of Lucifer himself"

Abegail practically fell off her desk. Between the noise of the bottle and his statement she didn't know if she should faint or laugh.

She took a breath, downed her third glass and slid off her desk.

"Ye mean to tell me, Walter that the grail, the thing that promises so much....is connected to a fallen angel? I am goin' to look for a stone that belong to the thing that brought Lucifer himself?" The scotch was starting to hit her. Her accent popping up in her slightly inebriated state.

"Well, canna be any worse then any of the other stories of the things protecting the grail or searching for it. We have a lotta plannin' to do." She stood. Taking a deep breath.

"We will fly from here to Spain? Then train seems safest yes? I will need at least two hours to pack and get my ticket." She nodded.

"Walter, ye not tellin' me this in hopes of scaring me away are ye? I will na be scared off by tales of angels, fallen or otherwise." She narrowed her eyes at him. Abegail searched his face for something that would tell her if he was just trying to scare her off.

"No, not at all." Walter replied forcefully. "Don't worry about our getting into Germany, everything has been arranged once we get there, of course we still have to get there. My contacts at the Psychic research institute of London have secured false identification papers for both of us, we will be chaperoned through a secret tunnel which will take us into Germany, all this has been set up by the Resistance movement. A chapter of The White Rose will be our contacts across the boarder as well. If I'm not mistaken, the Americans have agents there already, not a single secret society in existence is aware of the discovery of the documents, they are all sending their best man. We have an advantage as we at least have a place to start from, I just hope that we are the only ones who are aware of the village of Rhenstal." Walter, who was looking down at the glass in his hand whilst twirling it around with his fingers continued, "That's the most likley place for Indiana to be hiding, and we desperately need his help. I'm just not experienced enough with these things, as I guide I'm fine, but should be run into Nazi's......well, I'm not too confident in my fighting skills." Walter placed the the empty glass on the floor beside him, he then put both hands on his knees, taking a deep breath he rose from his chair, sighed and then added, "Here is to an uneventful journey, trouble wise."

Abegail nodded at his assurance that he was not trying to scare her. She wanted to believe him and the force of his words calmed her enough that she felt she could trust what he said. The details seemed in place for their journey and she was slightly startled at how much he had planned out and made arrangements for already.

So many names, so many people involved, so many hands involved, and all it meant was more hands that could potentially kill them should they not like what Walter and Abby were doing.

Abegail shook her head, "I'll be no use to ye with there is fighting. I mean I can take care my own and I have a decent hook if need be but I have never shot a gun." She swallowed, "First time for everythin' aye? So we go to the village and follow the trail from there, to Indy, to the papers and to who knows what."

Abegail moved past Walter and opened the bottom drawers of her desk. From one she took the unopened bottle of scotch and placed it in her briefcase. From the other drawer she took a pile of worn clothes. Those too she shoved in the briefcase and attempted to close it.

Abegail, "Give me two hours to pack. You can pick me up at my place." Her composure better, she forced the accent down. Abegail scribbled her address on a piece of paper for Walter.

"Two hours." She grabbed a stack of books from her desk. She balanced them on one arm and started to scan the bookcase for others she thought would be relevant. Pulling a few she added them to the pile. She turned and grabbed the stuffed briefcase.

She nodded to Walter and left the room. She considered picking up the empty bottle from the floor but quickly decided against it. "Bullocks to that, at this point they can think what they want about me. I might never come back." It was the last thought that ran through her head as she headed across the campus and towards her home.

Walter walked back to his house which stood across the street from Marshall College, once there he finished up with his packing, most of it had already been packed away in his suitcase, rather sloppily, everything was stuffed inside the case with no sense of organization. After packing he went into the kitchen to have a cup of coffee and while there, sitting at the kitchen table, he heard a strange sound coming from the other room. Quick to his feet Walter rushed into the living room in an attempt to discover the source of the strange noise. Shifting his eyes around the average sized living room Walter was startled by a shadow which had floated passed the window. Upon further investigation he determined that he was simply imagining this, perhaps a bit of paranoia brought on the growing sense of doom which had attached itself to Walter's thoughts. Walter would not tell Abagail of this strange shadowy encounter, though she could sense that something was wrong.

Abegail opened the door to her small apartment. She shared the house with other people. A large house it was divided into small apartments. The Marshall rented the apartments out to the single female staff. Routinely patrolled by campus security to make the women feel safe. In all honesty, Abegail spent so little time here that she wouldn't be able to tell you what colour the walls were.

She entered the room, kicked the door closed and locked it. Moving to the couch she dropped her briefcase and set down the stack of books. The room was musty. A layer of dust settled on all of her books. She moved around the room and quickly threw open a window. Abby picked up a long dead plant and tossed it in the garbage. As she began to pull the dirty clothes out of her backpack she thought over what she was getting herself into. "Come one Abby, do not go scaring yourself." She spoke this outloud hoping the sound of her own voice would calm her some.

Abegail moved to the kitchen and quickly hand washed some of her clothes in the sink. Wringing them out she place the articles on the counters to dry. Opening her oven a bit she turned it on low. The extra heat would get them to dry quicker and she could get her packing done faster that way.

That was when she heard the noise. Abegail nearly jumped out of her skin. Rushing into the main room she saw the pile of books had fallen off of the couch. "Good grief Abegail, you are going to make yourself faint. Get a grip!" Abby scolded herself as she set about picking up the books. Stacking them again she looked at her briefcase. That was when she knew the books hadn't just fallen. The entire contents of her briefcase were dumped on the couch. The full unopened bottle of scotch sat there along with some of her notes but she knew immediately that something was missing. Rifling through the papers she found that one of her notebooks was missing. She knew it had the notes from the lecture in which she discussed the various other stories of the grail, it's other forms. Abegail's stomach turned. She knew that is contained stories of the various organizations that sought the grail. That is why the grail has so many forms and locations. There are so many looking.

Abegail's face paled. She looked at the door. It was still locked. The window! Abby jumped up quickly and looked out. Anyone who had been there was long gone and there was no sign of them. She slammed the window closed.

Abegail started to pack her bag, her hands shaking as she did so. Her briefcase was repacked and she included a few fresh notebooks and all the books she felt would be the most relevant to where they were going. She didn't have any on Lucifer or meteors but she had plenty on the grail. Her suitcase included the full bottle of scotch. She briefly considered opening but packed it feeling that on the journey she was more likely to need it.

Her clothes mostly dry, Abegail packed them in the suitcase. Abegail placed the suitcase and the briefcase by the door. She sat on the couch and waited for Walter to knock on the door. Abby tried desperately to stop her hands from shaking. She hoped Walter wouldn't notice how pale she was. How was she supposed to explain that someone had slipped in and taken her book and she never even caught a glimpse.

What had she gotten herself into?

Walter briskly walked along the sidewalk leading to the house where Abagail lived, which stood several blocks away on the same side of the street as his own, all the while Walter was keeping an eye out for any strangers that might be following him, though he could not see anyone. Still feeling as though he was being watched He quickened his pace. A few minutes later he had arrived at the building in which Abagail had her apartment, the structure was of a decent size, and although Walter had never been invited into Abagail's apartment he was familiar with the interior of the building, a few years ago he had taken the job of assisting with the renovation of the building, as a way to make some extra money during the summer seasons. Traveling around to the back of the building Walter slowly made his way to Abagail's apartment, he stopped at her front door, looked around once again to check for strangers and then he proceeded to knock on the door. Walter stood there and patiently waited. She was no doubt taking her time answering it, being careful and making sure that the person at the front door was indeed Walter Miller.

Abegail jumped at the knock on her door. She made her way to the door. "It's just Walter, it's just Walter."

She stood near the door and opened it very slowly. The relief at seeing him there almost bringing her to tears. Abegail opened the door all the way and almost hugged him.
"Walter, I...I am ready." She swallowed her tears. She was trying very hard to hide it from him.

Abegail turned and grabbed her coat, throwing it over her arm she picked up her briefcase and suitcase. She turned quickly to make sure he was still there. Again, relieved when he remained standing on her stoop.

"I have my passport and I am ready to go." She attempted to smile at him.

"I called for a cab before leaving my place, they should be here within the next half hour, I told them to meet us in front of your building, are you sure your ready?" Walter was certain that she was, but he had to make sure, not that he was the virtue of bravery itself, in fact he shared some of her reservations about the trip. Stepping to one side Walter took Abagail by the elbow and helped her out the door, the bags she was carrying scrapped against the door frame as she stepped out into the night. They both walked back to the front of the building to wait for the cab to show up, twenty six minutes later the cab pulled up to the curb where they were standing. The driver immediately got out of the cab to assist with the luggage which he found sitting in the street close to the sidewalk, he jammed the suitcases into the small trunk of the taxi and then grabbed the handle to the backdoor of the vehicle, seeing this Walter stepped aside and let Abagail enter the taxi. Walter was about to get into the cab, when all of a sudden a car came screeching from around the corner, as five shots rang out. Abagail and Walter instinctively ducked down to avoid being struck by the spray of gunfire, the taxi driver was not so lucky, three of the shots and hit him, one penetrated his left arm, the second hit him in the neck, and the last bullet lightly grazing his forehead. Miraculously none of the shots hit Abagail and Walter, the backseat window was shattered but Abagail wasn't injured by the flying glass.