A curious conversation...

In pursuit of their estranged former teammate Doctor Jackal, the EIS team of enhanced individuals Have discovered that renowned physicist Albert Einstein has not only met with Doctor Jackal, but is also an enhanced. The EIS team consists of Alfie Baldrick, the one man rifle section; Mimi Dubois, maîtresse of skills; Madeline Forsyth, the living shadow; and Sven Hyse, the Norwegian shapeshifter.

Princeton, United States of America, October 1949

First thing on Sunday morning we head out to a local diner to get waffles and discuss what we are going to do next. While eating more sugar than is healthy for us Madeline and Sven rough out the technicalities of tapping Einstein's telephone line and decide that they would either have to put in a physical switch at the local exchange or use a short distance radio pack to rig up a remote tap but agree that we would need to have somewhere nearby to listen in. So I agree that I will investigate finding a property in close proximity for us to rent short term. Sven discovers that the closest surplus store is within Keyport, a short drive away. We finish up our breakfast with the agreement that we will keep Einstein under constant surveillance for a couple of days before we attempt to contact him by letter requesting a meeting.

As the rest of us jump into the car and head for Keyport and the surplus store, Sven transforms into a bird and flies up into the air with a plan of locating Einstein. He first visits Einstein's home on Mercer street but finds it empty and so he flaps onwards to the Institute of Advanced Studies and, perching in an overlooking tree, sees Einstein sat in his office reading. Sven settles down to keep watch but is shocked when his quarry stands up and looks directly at him out of the window. Sven freezes for a moment and then flaps up to the roof of the building and keeps watch from there. A couple of minutes later he spots Einstein walking out of the front of the building with his eyes scanning the sky. Sven watches while Einstein puffs on his pipe while scratching his head and looking around.

Alfie pulls the car up outside the closed surplus store, any passers by would have seen a single occupant in the car wearing a dark black suit, he walks over to the front of the warehouse and stands for a moment reading the notice in the window. As he stands there his suit changes from a deep black to a dark blue as two shadows slide off of him from his front and his back and slip in under the doorway. Alfie turns around and gets back into the car and drives off down the road. He gets to the end of the block before he realises that he has no idea what he is meant to do next.

Sven flies from the roof of the building and lands behind a bush, he transforms into a cat and scampers around the corner of the building. He finds that Einstein is once again looking straight at him and so he rushes back the way he came. As soon as he is out of sight he transforms back into a blackbird and leaps into the air once more, he spirals high up into the air and can see Einstein scanning the bushes, trees, and the skies. Eventually, Einstein heads back into the building shaking his head and puffing on his pipe. Landing on the ground, Sven transforms himself into a squirrel and scampers up a different tree to keep watch from further away. His new spot does not give him a clear view of Einstein's office and so when someone comes to Einstein's door, Sven is unable to see who it is.

Inside the warehouse is dark, but that is not an issue for Madeline and as I have borrowed her powers neither is it an issue for me. We slip through the warehouse in shadow form looking for anything of use, and at the back of the open front area we discover a large gun rack containing handguns, shotguns, and rifles. In front of the gun racks is a long counter containing multiple types of ammunition, and behind the counter is a heavy locked door. We slide in under it and discover a store area holding stock and to our surprise some heavier weapons including a few submachine guns and a couple of machine guns. Madeline also uncovers an army issue radio backpack, she grabs it and making a mental note of the weapons we head back out towards the front of the building. As we pass the counter I grab a large Bowie knife while Madeline swipes a samurai sword that must have been a war trophy.

Ten minutes later Einstein and a second man, in his late fifties with grey hair, exit the building and climb into a car. As they drive away Sven takes flight as a starling and keeps pace with the car, it stops outside of Einstein's house and both men get out of the car and enter the house. Sven lands in a tree and keeps watch, he sees movement in the kitchen and then the lights go on in the living room of the property.

We slide back out of the warehouse and discover that Alfie had returned from his hiding place mere moments before. We slide into the back of the car and head for Einstein's house. We pull up around seven thirty in the evening and I push out with my senses, I get two returns, one from within the house and the second just outside and upwards in a tree. Madeline and I once again slide out of the car and manage to locate Sven in his observation post, I slide up the tree and whisper to him to alert him of my presence. The Norwegian shapeshifter transforms into a minor bird and tells us everything that has happened. While Sven is debriefing me Madeline slides up the outside of the house and slips down the chimney, she can hear talking from the ground floor and so she slides down the flue and stops just before reaching the open fireplace. She can hear Einstein arguing with another man about a disagreement of theories. She smiles to herself as she hears Einstein tell the other man that his theories are bunkum. At that, she hears the other man stand up and a heartbeat later she hears the sound of the front door slamming.

From the tree Sven and I see the man leave and climb into the car and drive away. Sven instantly leaps into the air in pursuit of the vehicle and follows it a short distance along the road before seeing it turn into 103 Mercer Street. Sven returns to tell me where the car drove to and then he returns to Alfie in the car with the plan of heading back to the motel to get some sleep. I push out with my senses and locate Madeline and Einstein within the house, I slide down the chimney and let Madeline know what has happened, she agrees to stay and keep watch on Einstein while I head for the second location and attempt to find out who the second man was. Just inside the front door of 103 Mercer Street I find a wallet on a table, a quick check lets me know that the second man is one Immanuel Velikovsky, I search my mind, or more accurately the borrowed knowledge from Klaus Fuchs the physicist, and recall that Velikovsky is known for his pseudo-scientific theories to do with the formation of the solar system. Just the kind of thing that might be linked to the work of Doctor Jackal.

I slide up to Velikovsky's bedroom and slip on top of him in shadow form, sliding my hand over his cheek I borrow his knowledge of physics to add to that of Fuchs. As soon as I do, my mind is a whir of conflicting theories. I head back to Madeline, and working on a long shot hunch I borrow her knowledge of the occult and spend the rest of the night trying to draw conclusions from the differing philosophies, but in the end I conclude that it is a dead end and there are no correlations.

At a quarter to eight the following morning a car pulls up outside Einstein's house and he leaves his house heading for the backseat of the car, I slide up onto the roof of the building to watch him go and as I do Einstein looks back at the house and looks straight at me. I duck back out of sight and hide behind the chimney breast. Madeline hears Einstein reenter the house and step into his living room, she then hears the sound of a pen scratching on paper. She hears this several times and then audibly tracks Einstein as he moves around the house going to every window. From the roof of the building I see that the car has pulled away and is leaving, and then I spot our car rounding the corner and pulling up near the house.

Madeline slips out of the fireplace upstairs in the bedroom and finds that Einstein has stuck a piece of paper to the window, she plucks it down and scratched upon it in hurried text is one word;

Hello!

Madeline slides back down the chimney and into the living room where she materialises, she can hear Einstein moving about in the kitchen making a pot of coffee so she shouts out;

Two sugars please!

Einstein is somewhat surprised and says that he didn't hear her enter, Madeline looks him in the eye and says;

We are a little bit beyond that stage I think. You left me a note, why don't you have a seat.

Einstein looks at her and then smiles;

I think that we are related. Not familial, but by ability.

Now it is Madeline's turn to smile, she asks if he has always been gifted or if he was affected somehow. Einstein tells her that he had a meeting with someone, and Madeline quickly responds;

Oh! You have met Henry?

Einstein practically beams;

We had a very lively discussion.

Madeline responds that Henry was always a man of science and goes on to ask if Einstein was told by Doctor Jackal about the enhancements, and asks is Henry had a reason for giving them to Einstein. Albert responds;

Yes he probably did have a reason, but he didn't tell me what it was. I don't know a great deal about him or these gifts. Are there others like us?

Madeline nods and then gets up out of the chair and walks to the front door. She sees Alfie and Sven sat in the car and waves them into the house. They enter and stand in the living room being introduced to Einstein, who is brimming with questions. He asks which one of them was the individual posing as different animals and Madeline indicates Sven. Meanwhile I had slipped down the chimney and sat just inside the flue listening to the conversation. Einstein goes on to ask how the enhancements work and Madeline says;

It would be better for Mimi to explain everything.

With that I slip out of the chimney in shadow form and rematerialise into myself. Einstein reacts like an interested scientist, not shocked or concerned, but interested in how it works and the details of each enhancement. Madeline explains that I don't exactly have the ability to transform into shadow, but like him, I have the ability to borrow other peoples powers. Einstein looks momentarily confused before saying;

I don't have the ability to copy other powers!